223 Being Thin Is Healthy
223 瘦即是健康吗
No woman can be too rich or too thin.This saying often attributed to the lateDuchess of Windsor embodies much of theodd spirit of our times. Being thin is deemedas such a virtue.
女人钱再多也不多， 女人再瘦也不瘦。这句常被认为是已故温莎公爵夫人说的话，很大程度上体现了时代精神的怪异——瘦被视为难得的优点。
The problem with such a view is that some people actually attempt to live by it. I myself have fantasies of slipping into narrow designer clothes. Consequently. I have been on a diet for the better — or worse — part ofmy life. Being rich wouldn’t be bad either,but that won’t happen unless an unknownrelative dies suddenly in some distant land,leaving me millions of dollars.
此观点的问题在于有些人实际上力图身体力行。我自己就幻想能轻松套上瘦小的时装，结果不管对自己生活有无好处，一味节食。有钱也不是什么坏事，但这种情况不会落在我身上——除非某个遥远国度有个不认识的亲戚突然死了，留给我几百万美元遗产。
When did we go off the track? When dideating butter become a sin, and a little bit ofextra flesh unappealing, if not repellent? Allreligions have certain days when people refrainfrom eating and excessive eating is one of Christianity’s seven deadly sins. However, until quite recently, most people had a problem getting enough to eat. In some religious groups, wealth was a symbol of probable salvationand high morals, and fatness a sign ofwealth and well-being.
我们在何处背离了生活常规？ 什么时候吃黄油成了一种罪过？ 稍多点赘肉即使不招人反感也不再具魅力？ 所有宗教都有特定的禁食日，暴食是基督教不可饶恕的七宗罪之一。然而，直至不久前多数人还存在不够吃的问题。过去，在有些宗教团体中，财富是可能得到救赎和道德高尚的象征，而肥胖则代表富足康乐。
Today the opposite is true. We have shifted to thinness as our new mark of virtue. Theresult is that being fat — or even only somewhatoverweight — is bad because it implies alack of moral strength.
今天恰好相反。瘦已转变为美德的新标志，其结果便是肥胖成了坏事——哪怕稍稍偏重也不行——因为这意味着缺乏道德意志。
Our obsession with thinness is also fueledby health concerns. It is true that in thiscountry we have more overweight people thanever before, and that, in many cases, being over-weight correlates with an increased riskof heart and blood vessel disease. These diseases,however, many have as much to do withour way of life and our high-fat diets as with excess weight. And the associated risk of cancerin the digestive system may be more of adietary problem — too much fat and a lack offiber — than a weight problem.
对健康的关心助长了人们对瘦身的痴狂。的确，目前美国体重超标的人比以往任何时候都多，而且在许多情况下，肥胖与增加心血管疾病的风险息息相关。不过除了超重，这些疾病也同样与我们的生活方式及高脂肪饮食习惯有很大关系。患消化系统癌症的相关风险可能更主要是饮食而非体重问题——食物高脂肪低纤维。
The real concern, then, is not that weweigh too much, but that we neither exerciseenough nor eat well. Exercise is necessary forstrong bones and both heart and lung health.A balanced diet without a lot of fat can alsohelp the body avoid many diseases. We shouldsurely stop paying so much attention toweight. Simply being thin is not enough. It isactually hazardous if those who get (or alreadyare) thin think they are automatically healthyand thus free from paying attention to theiroverall life-style. Thinness can be pure vainglory.
这么看来， 问题的关键不是体重过重，而是我们既锻炼不充分，又吃得不科学。锻炼对强健骨骼、心肺健康都很必要。低脂肪均衡饮食也有助于身体远离多种疾病。我们绝对不应再过分注重体重了。仅仅瘦是不够的。如果那些瘦人认为他们自然而然就可保持健康，从而不注意总体生活方式，实际上会很危险。瘦可谓纯属虚荣。