美国国家公共电台 NPR New Federal Exercise Guidelines Emphasize Moving More Through

 

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Move more. Sit less. We've all heard this, but these are the new physical activity recommendations out today from the federal government. As NPR's Allison Aubrey reports, the updated guidelines aim to help people offset¹ the damage of sitting around too much.

ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE²: You've likely heard the idea that sitting is the new smoking. And as a nation, we sit a lot. The lack of physical activity is linked to $117 billion in the annual health care costs. But the good news is you can counteract³ the damages. Loretta DiPietro is a professor of exercise science at George Washington University.

LORETTA DIPIETRO: People would think, oh, I can't go to the gym for an hour. Well, there's evidence that you don't need to go to the gym.

AUBREY: In order to maintain good health, the guidelines recommend you do need to aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic⁴ activity each week. That works out to about 20 or 25 minutes a day. And the new guidelines emphasize that you don't have to get it all at once. So if you walk or bike to the bus stop, then you take the stairs instead of the elevator, all this counts towards your daily target. Here's DiPietro again. She served on the advisory⁶ committee that reviewed all of the new evidence on exercise.

DIPIETRO: It's really an accumulation over the course of 24 hours that's important. And so moderate-intensity activity, no matter how you accomplish it and in as many bouts⁷ as you can do, are what matters.

AUBREY: Now, this applies to all age groups from preschool-aged kids to older adults. For the first time, the updated physical activity guidelines make recommendations for 3-to-5-year-olds, prescribing active play throughout the day. Maybe this will nudge parents and caregivers to take electronic devices out of little hands.

DIPIETRO: The increasing amount of screen time - that is a factor driving these recommendations.

AUBREY: Increasing physical activity in childhood does more than just fend⁸ off weight problems. Exercise can also have some immediate⁹ benefits. It can help boost our moods, tamp¹⁰ down anxiety. And in children, it can help them do better in school. Here's Chuck Hillman of Northeastern University who was also on the advisory committee.

CHUCK HILLMAN: This is a really exciting area - the study of a single bout⁵ of exercise having a benefit to cognition and brain function.

AUBREY: Hillman explains what he's found is that a single workout - say, 20 minutes on a treadmill¹¹ - can lead to improved attention span and an enhanced ability to fend off distractions¹².

HILLMAN: So we see using standardized¹³ achievement tests that following a single bout of exercise, we find benefits to reading comprehension and arithmetic.

AUBREY: The effects fade quickly, which suggests that daily exercise or daily movement is key.

KATHLEEN JANZ: The secret to physical activity's success is for it to become habitual¹⁴. So if we do it every day, we're going to get that benefit every day.

AUBREY: That's Kathleen Janz of the University of Iowa. She was also on the Physical Activity Advisory Committee. She says if you start healthy habits in childhood, they're likely to carry over. And over the long term, people who have physically¹⁵ active lifestyles cut their risk of all sorts of diseases, not just heart disease and many types of cancer but also a decreased risk of dementia. Another benefit - perhaps you'll have a sunnier outlook on life.

JANZ: Every time you're active, you think better. You sleep better, and you feel better.

AUBREY: She says focusing on these immediate benefits can help motivate us to move. Allison Aubrey, NPR News.

1 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

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 counteract   

vt.对…起反作用，对抗，抵消

参考例句：

• The doctor gave him some medicine to counteract the effect of the poison.医生给他些药解毒。
• Our work calls for mutual support.We shouldn't counteract each other's efforts.工作要互相支持，不要互相拆台。

4 aerobic   

adj.需氧的，增氧健身法的，有氧的

参考例句：

• Aerobic exercise helps to build up stamina.有氧健身操有助于增强耐力。
• Aerobic dance is conductive to the health.有氧舞蹈有助于健康。

5 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

6 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

7 bouts   

n.拳击（或摔跤）比赛( bout的名词复数 )；一段（工作）；（尤指坏事的）一通；（疾病的）发作

参考例句：

• For much of his life he suffered from recurrent bouts of depression. 他的大半辈子反复发作抑郁症。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was one of fistiana's most famous championship bouts. 这是拳击界最有名的冠军赛之一。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 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。

9 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

10 tamp   

v.捣实，砸实

参考例句：

• Then I tamp down the soil with the back of a rake.然后我用耙子的背将土壤拍实。
• Philpott tamped a wad of tobacco into his pipe.菲尔波特往烟斗里塞了一卷碎烟叶。

11 treadmill   

n.踏车；单调的工作

参考例句：

• The treadmill has a heart rate monitor.跑步机上有个脉搏监视器。
• Drugs remove man from the treadmill of routine.药物可以使人摆脱日常单调的工作带来的疲劳。

12 distractions   

n.使人分心的事[人]( distraction的名词复数 )；娱乐，消遣；心烦意乱；精神错乱

参考例句：

• I find it hard to work at home because there are too many distractions. 我发觉在家里工作很难，因为使人分心的事太多。
• There are too many distractions here to work properly. 这里叫人分心的事太多，使人无法好好工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 standardized   

adj.标准化的

参考例句：

• We use standardized tests to measure scholastic achievement. 我们用标准化考试来衡量学生的学业成绩。
• The parts of an automobile are standardized. 汽车零件是标准化了的。

14 habitual   

adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的

参考例句：

• He is a habitual criminal.他是一个惯犯。
• They are habitual visitors to our house.他们是我家的常客。

15 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。