失眠、空调可能和肥胖有关

2006-08-17 00:00 来源:丁香园 作者:bluelove 译
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Sleep loss, air conditioning may be making us fat

"Super-sized" fast food meals and TV time shouldn't take all the blame for the U.S. obesity problem, according to a research review published Tuesday.

In fact, a group of researchers contend, a number of aspects of modern living -- from lack of sleep to exposure to environmental chemicals to living with air conditioning -- may be feeding Americans' weight woes.

Writing in the International Journal of Obesity, they argue that obesity research and prevention efforts need to look beyond the "Big Two" -- food industry practices, like beefed-up portion sizes and added sugar; and reduced physical activity from factors such as cuts in school gym classes.

That's not to say that diet and exercise aren't important, said report co-author Dr. David B. Allison of the University of Alabama at Birmingham

However, he told Reuters Health, the evidence linking obesity to food industry marketing and lack of gym class is circumstantial.

It's equally plausible that a range of other factors are also involved, Allison and his colleagues point out.

Lack of sleep is one, they say. Research in animals and humans suggests that chronic sleep deprivation boosts appetite and eating, and studies also show that U.S. adults and children are sleeping less than they used to. In recent decades, adults have gone from sleeping for an average of 9 hours to about 7 hours, the researchers point out.

There is also evidence that industrial chemicals that act as endocrine disruptors may increase body fat. These chemicals, which are used in products such as pesticides and plastics, alter hormonal activity when they get into the body. Studies suggest that people have been increasingly exposed to these chemicals through the food chain in recent decades.

Another factor potentially weighing Americans down is air conditioning. The body burns calories when forced to regulate its own temperature and, Allison noted, people tend to eat less in hot, humid weather.

He and his colleagues cite 10 potential obesity risk factors in all, including: increased rates of older mothers, whose children may be more prone to excess weight gain; a range of medications, such as antidepressants, which can promote weight gain; and a decrease in smoking rates, because people often gain weight when they quit and the absence of nicotine, an appetite suppressant.

No one is suggesting that people should stop taking their prescriptions, keep smoking or swelter in the July sun, according to Allison. When it comes to any one person's weight, he said, "what ultimately matters is calorie intake and calorie expenditure."

That means diet and exercise is still key.

But, Allison argued, researchers and policymakers should be "open-minded" about the potential contributors to the obesity problem and not assume that the answer lies in simple fixes like ridding schools of vending machines or installing sidewalks in the suburbs to encourage walking.

SOURCE: International Journal of Obesity, June 27, 2006 online.

失眠、空调可能和肥胖有关

根据周二出版的一篇研究综述报道,“巨无霸”快餐和电视并不对美国的肥胖问题负全部责任。

事实上,一些研究者认为现代生活的许多方面都有可能导致美国人的体重过度增加。

这篇发表在国际肥胖杂志上的文章作者认为肥胖研究和预防不能只着眼于“两个主要原因”——食品工业增加食品的分量和含糖量;各种原因例如减少学校体育课导致的体育锻炼减少。

“但是并不是说饮食和锻炼不重要”,作者之一来自伯明翰阿拉巴马大学的David B. Allison说。

他接受路透社健康栏目采访时表示,证明肥胖与食品工业市场和体育课缺乏之间关系的证据需要依情况而定。

Allison和他的同事们表示其他一系列因素是否与肥胖有关同样不确定。

“睡眠不足是原因之一”,他们说,“对动物和人类的研究表明慢性睡眠缺乏可能增加食欲,而且研究还表明现在美国成人和儿童的睡眠时间均少于过去”。研究者还指出,在最近几十年成人的睡眠平均时间从9小时减少到7小时。

还有证据表明工业化学制品扮演了“内分泌紊乱者”的角色,可能增加体脂。这些化学制品通常被用来生产杀虫剂和塑料,当它们进入机体后改变了激素的作用。研究表明在最近几十年人类通过食物链已经越来越多的暴露于这些化学制品。

另一个可能使美国人过度忧虑的因素是空调。Allison指出当身体被迫调节体温时就要燃烧热量,而且在闷热、潮湿的天气里人们吃的较少。

他和他的同事们引证了10个可能的肥胖风险因子,包括:年长妈妈比例的升高,他们的孩子可能更易于增加体重;一系列药物治疗,例如抗抑郁药可能促进体重增加;还有吸烟率的降低,因为尼古丁是一种食欲抑制剂,所以戒烟后容易导致体重增加。

Allison表示,没有人建议停止服药,继续抽烟或者在七月的阳光下汗流浃背,谈到某个人的体重,归根结底是热量的摄入和消耗。
那意味着饮食和锻炼仍然是关键因素。

Allison表示,研究者和政策制定者们在处理可能导致肥胖问题的各种原因时应该“思路开阔”,而不要以为只需通过一些简单的措施就能够解决问题,例如拆掉学校的自动售货机或者在郊区铺设人行道鼓励步行。

来源:国际肥胖杂志,2006年6月27日 在线

编者按:本文由丁香园网友bluelove翻译。


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