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  3. Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine published a study showing that, because of food production and

Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine published a study showing that, because of food production and

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问题     Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine published a study showing that, because of food production and transportation factors, a population of heavier people contributes more harmful gases to the planet than a population of thin people.
    Given that it takes more energy to move heavier people, transportation of heavier people requires more fuel, which creates more greenhouse gas emissions, the authors write.
    "The main message is staying thin. It’s good for you, and it’s good for the planet," said Phil Edwards, senior lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
    More than 1 billion adults worldwide are overweight, and about 300 million are obese(过度肥胖的), the study said. Generally, the body mass index, a measure of obesity, is increasing in most countries worldwide, from China to European countries to the United States.
    BMI is going up because of the availability of food and motorized transportation, Edwards said. People are less active now than they were 30 years ago, and the prevalence of fast food has given people less healthy, more energy-dense options.
    Using statistical models, the authors compared the distribution of BMI in the United Kingdom in the 1970s — when 3.5 percent of the population was obese — with a prediction for the country’s BMI distribution in 2010, reflecting 40 percent obesity.
    "In terms of environmental impact, the lean population has a much smaller carbon footprint," Edwards said.
    The population with 40 percent obese people requires 19 percent more food energy for its total energy expenditure than the population with 3.5 percent obese people, the study showed. This 19 percent increase in food consumption translates into an increase of 270 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, the study said.
    "The findings make sense and highlight an important global co-benefit of losing weight, along with the significant personal health benefits," said Patrick Kinney, associate professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, who was not involved in the study.
    In terms of obesity rate, the U.S. population is not far off from the overweight population model in this study. The country has 33.3 percent obese people, according to the Mayo Clinic.
    The study suggests that governments have a responsibility to encourage people to be more physically active, Edwards said. Active transportation, such as cycling and walking, helps maintain a healthy weight but requires safe streets, he said.
    "If the government wants to promote active transport, which would be good for the environment and for individual health, it needs to make the environment safe to do that," he said.
Why do obese people have more impact on the environment than thin people?
选项 A、They have a smaller carbon footprint.
B、They take in more oxygen to keep the body running.
C、Their transportation needs more fuels and releases more harmful gases.
D、Their higher body temperatures contribute more to the global warming.
答案C
解析 首段提到，由于食物生产和交通因素，胖人比瘦人产生的有害气体更多(more harmfulgases)。第2段进一步解释胖人对交通的影响，指出他们的交通需要更多的燃料(requires more fuel)。由此可知，胖人比瘦人对环境的影响更大的原因是胖人在交通过程中需要更多的燃料，排放更多的有害气体，故答案为C)。A)与第7段的内容相矛盾。B)和D)是基于常识所设的选项，在文中并未提及。
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