美国国家公共电台 NPR This Chef Lost 50 Pounds And Reversed Prediabetes With A Digital Program

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Medical researchers are hoping that a smartphone can help to prevent Type 2 diabetes¹. A program that helps people is delivered by phone. And NPR's Allison Aubrey reports on how it works.

ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE²: Sometimes a good motivation for change is fear. Don Speranza knows this. About a year ago, he heard from his doctor with some test results.

DON SPERANZA: She sent me an email that was like a gut³ punch.

AUBREY: Based on his weight, which had crept up to 210 pounds, and his bloodwork, he had pre-diabetes. This means his blood sugar was elevated but not yet high enough to be diagnosed with the condition.

SPERANZA: It was a real come-to-Jesus meeting for me. I mean, I was really sick to my stomach.

AUBREY: So here's what he had to get his head around. If he could lose weight, a significant amount, he could get his blood sugar back in the normal range and fend⁴ off the disease. Mark Greenwood, a physician with Intermountain Healthcare, says when people change their habits, it can be transformative.

MARK GREENWOOD: You can either delay or, in some cases, prevent diabetes. And both are, of course, victories, if you will.

AUBREY: So how can a smartphone help people pull this off? Well, studies show that in order to make big changes - to lose 5 to 7 percent of your body weight - people need help. They need education and counseling, typically offered in a class setting or a doctor's office. They also need a coach and peer support. But Don Speranza had access to none of this. He lives on a farm along the Columbia River in Washington. He runs a small B&B, and he's the chef there. The closest city is an hour away, so it would not be easy to go to a class.

SPERANZA: Yeah, I was kind of lost as to what to do. I knew I needed to do something.

AUBREY: So, through his doctor, he signed up for a digital program designed by Omada Health. It offers all the components⁵ of lifestyle change, online and electronically. The first thing that happened, Omada sent him a digital scale. Each day, he'd weigh himself and upload the data to a dashboard. He used a wearable device to track his exercise. He also documented what he ate. The program also provides an online coach who he could text back and forth⁶ with. She could see all of his data and give him advice.

SPERANZA: Oh, my coach, I can't sing her praises enough - what a cheerleader she was.

AUBREY: Even though they never met in person, they bonded⁷. He took her advice. He realized, for instance, that he ate way too much of the wrong things.

SPERANZA: The homemade breads and croissants and pizza.

AUBREY: He loves these things, but he had to change his relationship with all these foods. Temporarily, he cut out all those refined carbohydrates⁸ and trained himself not to eat all the treats he bakes for his guests. And he began to fill his plate with more protein and vegetables.

SPERANZA: Week by week, kind of one or two little changes at a time. That was a game changer.

AUBREY: The weight began to fall off. And he started to move more. His coach nudged him to switch up his morning routine.

SPERANZA: I'll start the coffee, but I'll go outside and I'll walk for 2,000 steps before I have my coffee.

AUBREY: Two thousand steps became 4,000, and he added in a daily bike ride. Now he has lost 50 pounds, and his blood sugar has returned to normal. He no longer has pre-diabetes.

SPERANZA: Oh, my gosh. You know, I'd buy flour by the 50-pound sacks. And I look at that, and I'm aghast to think that's what I was carrying around.

AUBREY: Speranza is not alone. Of the 200 people enrolled⁹ in a pilot study with Intermountain Healthcare, about 75 percent completed Omada's digital program and lost at least 5 percent of their body weight.

GREENWOOD: Honestly, this has been one of the most exciting things to me in my practice of medicine in the last few years.

AUBREY: That's Intermountain's Mark Greenwood.

GREENWOOD: When you give people tools and help instead of just preaching to them, people respond.

AUBREY: An estimated 84 million adults in the U.S. have pre-diabetes, so there are plenty of people who may also benefit from programs like this one. Allison Aubrey, NPR News.

1 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

4 fend   

v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开

参考例句：

• I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。
• He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。

5 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

6 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

7 bonded   

n.有担保的，保税的，粘合的

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee.威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• This adhesive must be applied to both surfaces which are to be bonded together.要粘接的两个面都必须涂上这种黏合剂。

8 carbohydrates   

n.碳水化合物，糖类( carbohydrate的名词复数 )；淀粉质或糖类食物

参考例句：

• The plant uses the carbohydrates to make cellulose. 植物用碳水化合物制造纤维素。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All carbohydrates originate from plants. 所有的碳水化合物均来自植物。 来自辞典例句

9 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》