Watching(1) the Olympics(2) probably made some people feel(3) a little guilty(4) about not exercising. The truth(5) is, if physical inactivity(6) were(7) a sport, a lot of us(8) could give a gold-medal(8) performance(9).
To mark the London Olympics, the Lancet, a British medical journal, published(11) a series of papers about the problem of inactivity.
Public health experts(12) say physical inactivity is the world’s fourth(13) leading cause(14) of death(15). They estimate that inactivity plays a major part(16) in six to 10 percent of deaths from non-communicable(17) diseases(18).
These include conditions like(19) heart disease, diabetes, and colon and breast cancer(20). I. Min Lee at the Harvard School of Public Health worked with a team(21) that studied inactivity.
She says the findings(22) are conservative(23) and may even(24) underestimate(25) the problem. She says, “Physical inactivity is harmful(26) to health, as harmful as far as deaths are concerned(27), as smoking(28).”
The researchers compared data on physical inactivity with disease rates(29) in 122 countries. I. MIN LEE: says researchers considered many behaviors(30) in their study that may be associated with increased(31) or decreased(32) risk of disease.
She says, “For example, we know that if you are active, you probably smoke less(33). Additionally(34) we factored out(35) obesity(36), independent of the fact that active people also tend to weigh less(37).”
Harold Kohl is with the University of Texas School of Public Health. He also(38) worked on the special report(39). He says physical inactivity should be recognized as(40) a global epidemic. “We have to realize(41) that high income(42) countries are the most inactive(43) around the world,” he says, “but low to middle(44) income countries are not going to be far behind(45) as things change(46).” He says as economies develop(47), people basically engineer(48) activity out of their daily lives(49).
Harold Kohl points(50) to campaigns(51) that continue to reduce(52) smoking and alcohol(53) use. He says the time has come(54) to target(55) physical inactivity as a major threat(56) to public health.
He also says it is becoming clearer(57) that our environment(58) plays a big part in whether we exercise or not(59). I. Min Lee agrees(60) — and she urges(61) people to do moderately intense exercise(62) for 150 minutes a week.
“Anything you can(63) do is great!” She says, “Even if(64) you don’t reach(65) that 150 minutes a week, a little is better than none(66) and more is better than a little.” She plans to return(67) every four years(68) — just like(69) the Olympics — to give a progress report on how the world is doing(70). For VOA Special English, I’m Mario Ritter. (Adapted from a radio program broadcast 15Aug2012)
Vocabulary
1. Watching = assistir 2. Olympics = Jogos Olímpicos 3. Feel = sentir 4. a little guilty = um pouco culpado 5. truth = verdade 6. inactivity = inatividade 7. were = fosse 8. a lot of us = muitos de nós 9. gold-medal = medalha de ouro 10. performance = desempenho 11. published = publicou 12. Public health experts = especialistas de saúde pública 13. Fourth = quarto 14. leading cause = causa principal 15. death = morte 16. plays a major part = desempenha uma parte importante 17. non-communicable = não transmissíveis 18. diseases = doenças 19. conditions like = condições como 20. breast cancer = cancer de mama 21. team = equipe 22. findings = descoberta 23. conservative = conservadoras 24. may even = pode até mesmo 25. underestimate = subestimar 26. harmful = prejudicial 27. as far as deaths are concerned = até onde as mortes estão envolvidas 28. smoking = fumo 29. rates = indices 30. behaviors = comportamentos 31. behaviors = aumentado 32. decreased = diminuído 33. smoke less = fuma menos 34. Additionally = adicionalmente 35. factored out =consideramos relevante 36. obesity = obesidade 37. tend to weigh less = tendem a pesar menos 38. also = também 39. report = relatorio 40. should be recognized as = deveria ser reconhecida como 41. realize = perceber 42. high income = alta renda 43. the most inactive = o mais inativo 44. low to middle = de baixo(a) a medio(a) 45. far behind = muito para trás 46. as things change = a medida em que as coisas mudam 47. develop = desenvolvem-se 48. engineer = inventor, criar 49. out of their daily lives = a partir de suas atividades diárias 50. points = aponta para 51. campaigns = campanhas 52. reduce = reduzir 53. alcohol = alcool 54. the time has come = chegou a época 55. target = alvejar, enquadrar 56. major threat = grande ameaça 57. it is becoming clearer = está ficando mais claro 58. environment = meio ambiente 59. whether we exercise or not = quer nós exercitemos ou não 60. agrees = concorda 61. urges = incentive 62. moderately intense exercise = exercícios moderamente intensos 63. Anything you can = qualquer coisa que você possa fazer 64. Even if = mesmo se 65. Reach = atingir, alcançar 66. a little is better than none = um pouco é melhor do que nenhum 67. plans to return = planeja retornar 68. every four years = a cada 4 anos 69. just like = assim como 70. how the world is doing = como o mundo está indo