肥胖屬於疾病範疇的10大原因(上)
What is obesity? We all know it when we see it but do we know what causes it? Many people think that obesity is down to laziness and greed. Obesity is, however, more serious than someone carrying a few extra pounds. It is a medical, life limiting condition and people who suffer from it deserve help and support. Obesity is an issue for one in three Americans and the AMA took the decision in order to impact on the way doctors and other medical professionals approach those suffering from the disease. Many other health issues (Type II Diabetes and Heart Disease) are linked to or made worse by obesity so treating and preventing obesity should have a positive effect on instances of many other conditions. In Sweden it has been accepted that obesity is increasingly prevalent, particularly amongst young people and as such policy makers need to look at targeting the problem and its associated social, personal and economic costs. The American Medical Association (AMA) took the decision, on June 18, 2013, to classify obesity as a disease. This was a controversial decision that is still being debated today. The debate gives rise to strong feelings on both sides. Here are our 10 reasons why obesity is a disease.
大家都很清楚什麼是肥胖，但是對於產生肥胖的原因，卻鮮有人瞭解。很多人把肥胖的原因歸結於懶惰、貪婪。事實上，肥胖遠不是身上多長了幾磅肉那麼簡單。嚴格說來，肥胖是一種醫療疾病，肥胖者的日常生活非常因肥胖變得很不方便，他們應該得到大家的幫助與支持。每三個美國人當中就會有一個患有肥胖症，美國醫療學會（AMA）決定要協助醫生以及其他醫療工作人員幫助肥胖症患者脫離這種疾病的困擾。肥胖會引發許多其他健康問題，還會使病情惡化（如：2型糖尿病和心臟病），因此在身體患有其他健康問題的情況下預防和治療肥胖百利而無一害。在瑞典，肥胖症非常普遍，尤其是在青年人中，因此，政府需要着手尋找解決問題的方法，並查明其會牽涉到的社會、個人、以及經濟上的代價。2013年6月18日，美國醫療學會將肥胖症列入疾病範疇。一直以來，社會各界對該決定爭論不休，引起正反兩方強烈反響。以下即爲肥胖屬於疾病範疇的10個原因。ity Has Always Been Treated As a Disease
10.肥胖始終被社會各界視爲一種病
As far back as the Ancient Greeks Hippocrates defined obesity as a disease noting that it could case impotence and sexual problems. Plutarch exhorted people to avoid indulging in delicacies and Galen invented the 'fat camp' when he 'reduced a huge fat fellow to moderates size…by making him run every morning until he fell into a profuse sweat'.
早在古希臘時期，希波克拉底就已把肥胖列入疾病範疇，且發現其會造成性無能等問題。希臘的歷史學家普魯塔克告誡人們不要縱情於美味佳餚。希臘名醫伽林也成立了一個“減肥營”，通過讓那些過度肥胖的人每天晨跑至汗流浹背來使他們“從大胖子轉變爲體格正常之人”。
By the 17th Century English Doctors were calling obesity a disease. They thought it was caused by a malfunction of the internal organs. Obesity has always been identified as a problem; however, historically it has been a problem that is the preserve of the rich. As Oliver Twist says in the song 'Rich gentlemen have it boys…indigestion!' Today many parts of the world are, by historic standards, incredibly rich and have a food security that is unparalleled. With this improved food security come related food problems.
到了17世紀，英國醫生把肥胖症歸爲一種疾病。他們認爲肥胖是由人體內部器官功能“失靈”引起。肥胖一直以來都被視爲一種病，但人們一直都認爲它是富人專屬。就如《霧都孤兒》裏的一句歌謠所云：“有錢的老爺都是吃到消化不良呀……” 跟以前相比，現今有錢人太多了，而且食品安全問題也比以前好太多。然而在這種情況下，還是會有飲食問題——肥胖飲食。ors Say It Is
9.醫生認爲肥胖屬於疾病
Doctors are experts in disease and how to cure it. If they say something is a disease we should listen to them! The AMA decided it was a disease in 2013 and the FDA, American College of Gastroenterology and the American Heart Association, amongst others, all agree. Nor is the US the only country where doctors make this claim. In Malaysia Dr Tee E Siong o the Nutrition Society of Malaysia and Professor Dr Mohd Ismail Noor of the Malaysian Society for the Study of Obesity say it should be referred to as a disease 'so that the public can be more aware of the dangers of the condition'. Obesity Australia is also campaigning for formal recognition of obesity as a disease to 'remove stigma and reduce obesity rates.'
醫生是研究疾病並找尋治療方法的人。所以醫生說某一種症狀應列入疾病範疇時，我們就應該相信！美國醫療學會於2003年把肥胖列入疾病範疇，對此，美國食品及藥物管理局、美國腸胃病學院、美國心臟病協會等組織都十分支持這一舉措。美國不是唯一一個贊同把肥胖列爲疾病的國家。馬來西亞營養協會的Tee E. Siong博士和馬來西亞肥胖研究所的Mohd Ismail Noor教授都認爲，將肥胖與疾病聯繫起來，公衆會更容易意識到肥胖的威脅性。澳大利亞肥胖協會也正在努力爭取把肥胖症歸爲正式的疾病，以達到“減少恥辱和降低肥胖率”的目的。World Health Organisation Says It Is
8.世界衛生組織說肥胖是病
ity Can Be Inherited
7.肥胖可以遺傳
No matter how healthy a lifestyle, how well people eat, some people are simply predisposed to be obese. People who suffer from conditions such as Prader-Willi Syndrome or a congenital condition such as hyperthyroidism are likely to be obese – sometimes from a young age.
不論人們生活方式多麼健康，飲食多麼合理，有些人就是容易胖。患有威利綜合症或者先天性疾病的人羣，例如，甲狀腺機能亢進症患者，更傾向於患有肥胖，有時甚至年紀輕輕就會很肥胖。Even if you do not have markers for any particular syndrome it is possible to be predisposed to obesity. If both your parents are obese you have an 80% chance of being obese yourself. There are more than 41 genes that predispose people to obesity. Why is this? There are survival benefits to obesity – if you can store up energy in the good times you are more likely to survive a period of famine. This so called 'thrifty gene' was a great benefit in century's past. A modern day 'paleo' diet may be all very well but it is not the answer for everyone. Even in prehistoric times there were some people who were predisposed to be obese. Many of the 'Venus' figurines recovered from the time show women with large breasts, stomachs and buttocks. These figurines may demonstrate the 'desired optimum' i.e. large is beautiful but even if that is the case the optimum had to exist for the artists to be aware of it. Put simply some cave men were obese and that genetic predisposition has been passed on to their descendants – us!
即使你沒有任何特殊症狀，你也還是有可能患上肥胖症。如果你的父母都肥胖，那麼你有80%的機率患有肥胖症。因爲人體本身就有超過41種使人們更傾向於肥胖的基因。怎麼會這樣？因爲肥胖有生存益處——如果平時儲存足夠能量，就可以在饑荒期間生存下來。這個所謂的“節儉基因”在過去可是非常有益的。現在我們提及的“原始飲食”也許非常好，但不適合所有人。即使在古代，也是有人更易於肥胖的。許多存留下來的“維納斯時期”女人雕像的特徵都是豐乳肥臀。這些雕像展示的也許就是當時的“完美標準”， 例如，“大”即是美。但“最美”的東西也得有懂得欣賞的藝術家。簡單來說，一些洞穴人是肥胖的，他們的這種基因特性也遺傳給了他們的後代——我們！ity Has an Impact on Life Expectancy
6.肥胖影響壽命
If someone who is not obese suffers from a condition that reduces their life expectancy most people would be comfortable labelling that condition a disease or illness. Lung Cancer is a disease whether or not the person who has it was a smoker. Cirrhosis of the liver is a disease whether or not the sufferer is a drinker. WHO states that 3.4 million adults die from obesity each year. Shockingly 65% of the world's population now live in countries where obesity is more of a health risk than being underweight. The sad fact is that obesity is one of the leading causes of preventable death worldwide by as much as 10 years in the most extreme cases. If any other condition had this type of major impact there would be no debate about whether or not it should be classified as a disease – indeed there would be an outcry if it was not.
無論一個人是否肥胖，只要他因此而壽命縮短，人們自然就會將它標誌爲“疾病”。不管患者是不是菸民，肺癌都是一種疾病；不管患者是不是酒鬼，肝硬化都是一種疾病。世界衛生組織指出，每年都有340萬成年人死於肥胖。讓人震驚的是，現在世界有65%的人口都居住在把“肥胖”列爲“危害健康”行列的國家，在這些國家肥胖造成的傷害比飲養不良還要大。更令人沮喪的是，在10年中最嚴重的情況下，肥胖是全球可預防性死亡的誘因之一。如果有什麼能和肥胖一樣產生如此大的影響，則沒有人會反對把它列爲“疾病”，否則貿然將肥胖列爲疾病必然會引起公憤。審校：哈利 來源：前十網
