悠悠球節食法或許真是個好方法

Yo-yo dieting might actually make people healthy, despite the huge amounts of criticism directed towards them, according to an expert.

專家稱，儘管存在許多批評的聲音，悠悠球節食法或許真能使人更健康。

Repeated crash diets might be best compared to going to the dentist, according to US biostatistician David Allison. In the same way, the extreme slimming method ensures that people get healthier - even if they gradually move away from that again.

據美國生物統計學家大衛·阿里森所說，與看牙醫相比，反覆節食更好。同樣，極限減肥法能確保人們更健康--即使他們的健康同時也在受損

Dr Allison found that in tests on mice, repeated diets didn't seem to do much harm. In fact, those that went on yo-yo diets actually lived longer than those who stayed obese.

阿里森博士從小鼠實驗中發現，反覆節食並不像看上去那樣對身體有害。事實上，那些堅持悠悠球節食法的人比一直肥胖的人壽命更長。

In keeping with that, Dr Allison said that the technique might actually serve a useful way for many people to keep fit.

與此一致的是，阿里森博士說這項技術實際上可能爲許多想保持身體健康的人提供一種有效的方法。

Dr Allison, from the University of Alabama in Birmingham, said: "If you go the dentist for your six month evaluation, they find there's some plaque around your teeth and scrape it off, and then they give you a toothbrush and piece of string and send you out and say keep up the good work.

來自伯明翰阿拉巴馬大學的阿里森博士曾說過："假如你去找牙醫做半年的醫學評估，他們發現你的牙斑後會刮掉它們，之後他們只會給了你一把牙刷、一根繩子，接着就把你送出門，叮囑你繼續努力。"

"And six months later, guess what, the plaque is back on. Just like weight loss. Nobody says dentistry is a failure. They say that's okay."

"六個月之後，你猜怎麼着，牙斑又回來了。就像減肥反彈一樣。沒人說牙醫治療是失敗的。他們說這很正常。"

Speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting in Boston, Massachusetts, he added: "We think it's probably not a bad idea to lose weight even if you are going to gain it back and redo it every few years."

在馬薩諸塞州波士頓舉行的美國科學發展協會（AAAS）年會發言中，他補充道："我們認爲減肥或許並非是個壞主意，即使將來會再長胖，隔幾年再減一次肥就是了。"

Around two in three British adults have body mass indexes (BMIs) that classify them as overweight or obese. Excess weight increases the risk of Type 2 diabetes, liver disease and some cancers.

大約三分之二英國成年人的體重指數（BMIs）把讓他們被劃分到了超重或肥胖人羣。超重也使2型糖尿病、肝病及一些癌症的患病風險增加。

Leading nutritionist Susan Jebb, Professor of Diet and Population Health at Oxford University pointed out that it was better to try losing weight than to do nothing.

牛津大學飲食與人口健康學教授，也是最傑出營養師的蘇珊·傑布指出--試着減肥比什麼也不做要好得多。

She said: "I agree with the notion that losing weight is generally worthwhile, even if you put the weight back on again.

她說："我同意減肥是值得的這一觀點，即使之後體重會再次回升。"

"We have good evidence from long-term follow up studies after controlled intervention studies in humans that there is a benefit."

"我們從一項長期跟蹤的人類控制性干預研究中獲得了證據，結果表明減肥是有益處的。"

But Professor Tim Spector, from King's College, London, author of The Diet Myth, spoke out strongly against yo-yo dieting.

但是來自倫敦大學國王學院的蒂姆·斯佩克特教授，同時也是《飲食神話》的作者，發聲強烈反對悠悠球節食法。

He said: "Data in humans shows that yo-yo dieting makes you gain weight long-term. In our twin study of 5,000 twins, the yo-yo dieter was usually heavier long-term than the identical twin who didn't diet."

他說："人體數據表明，從長期來看，悠悠球節食法會使你再次體重增加。我們在針對5000對雙胞胎的雙生子研究裏發現，長期採取悠悠球節食法的雙胞胎之一往往比雙胞胎中未節食的那一個更重。"