健康生活: 經濟蕭條竟然有益健康?

While an economic crisis results in untold misery for countries and their people, a new study of health in Cuba has suggested there could be a silver lining during lean times.

儘管經濟危機會給許多國家及其人民造成難以名狀的苦難，但是古巴的一項新健康研究指出，經濟困難時期的黑暗也有一線光明。

Researchers appear to have implied that people can lose weight during a recession due to a reduction in eating and increasing physical activity.

研究人員暗示說，由於攝入食物的減少和體力活動的增多，人們在經濟蕭條時期體重會下降。

Their dramatic findings, published online in the British Medical Journal, were based on a study in Cuba, where the population suffered food and fuel shortages following the economic crisis of the early 1990s triggered by the collapse of the Soviet Union.

這一發表在《英國醫學雜誌》網刊上的引人注目的發現基於古巴的一項研究。20世紀90年代早期古巴在蘇聯解體後陷入經濟危機，古巴民衆因此遭受食品和燃料的短缺。

This resulted in an average of 4 to 5kg (8 to 11 lbs) being shed by the people and subsequent rapid declines in deaths from diabetes and coronary heart disease.

這導致古巴人的平均體重下降了4到5千克（8到11磅），古巴因糖尿病和冠心病而導致的死亡人數隨後也迅速下降。

The scientists from the University of Alcalá, in Madrid, also discovered that when Cubans put the weight back on, cases of diabetes surged again.

馬德里的阿爾卡拉大學的科學家還發現，古巴人體重回升後，糖尿病的發病率又再度猛增。

The researchers concluded that the Cuban crisis could have lessons Britain.

研究人員得出結論說，英國可以從古巴危機中吸取教訓。

They suggested that an average weight loss of just eleven pounds across the UK could cut deaths from heart disease by a third while the mortality rate of type 2 diabetes, the form of the condition related to obesity, could also be halved.

他們指出，英國人口平均體重只需減少11磅，死於心臟病的人數就能減少三分之一，與肥胖有關的Ⅱ型糖尿病造成的死亡率也可以減半。

Whole population trends in food consumption and transport policies linked to physical activity could reduce the burden of two major illnesses, said the researchers.

研究人員稱，全體民衆食物攝入量的減少以及和體力活動有關的交通政策可以降低這兩大疾病的負擔。

"During the deepest period of the economic crisis in Cuba, from 1991 to 1995, food was scarce and access to gas was greatly reduced, virtually eliminating motorised transport and causing the industrial and agricultural sectors to shift to manual intensive labour,” said Prof Manuel Franco, who led the international team of researchers from Spain, Cuba and the United States.

這一國際研究團隊的成員來自西班牙、古巴和美國，團隊的領頭人曼紐爾?弗朗科教授說：“在古巴經濟危機最嚴重的時期，即1991年至1995年這段時間，食品和燃氣的供給量大幅減少，實質上降低了機動車的使用量，並導致工業和農業部門改用高強度的體力勞動。”

"We found a population-wide loss of 4-5 kg in weight in a relatively healthy population was accompanied by diabetes mortality falling by half and mortality from coronary heart disease falling by a third.

“我們發現，如果一個相對健康的人口體重整體減少4到5千克，那麼糖尿病導致的死亡率會隨之減半，冠心病死亡率也會降低三分之一。

"So far, no country or regional population has successfully reduced the distribution of body mass index or reduced the prevalence of obesity through public health campaigns or targeted treatment programmes."

“到目前爲止，還沒有哪個國家或地區能通過公共健康運動或有針對性的治療項目成功地降低人口的身體質量指數或肥胖發生率。”