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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.
According to Phil Edwards, the body mass index is increasing due to______.
选项 A、healthier and more nutritious foods
B、people’s lack of exercises
C、the decreasing use of vehicles
D、the environmental impact
答案B
解析 第5段提到，Edwards认为BMI(即body mass index的缩写)上升是由于食物充足和交通机动化。现在人们比30年前运动得少了，快餐的流行使得人们的饮食更加不健康。B)people’s lack of exer—cises是对该段People are less active的同义转述，故为答案。A)和C)与该段意思相矛盾。D)是针对第7段中的environmental impact所设的干扰项。
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