unit38 Liposuction’s Limits 吸脂术的局限性

Liposuction’s Limits

Doctors have long suspected that excess fat around the belly¹—as opposed to the thighs² or hips—increases the chances of developing heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes³. Apparently⁴, abdominal⁵ fat promotes ill health by, among other things, pumping out inflammatory proteins and interfering⁶ with the body’s ability to use insulin. So it seemed plausible⁷ to many physicians that surgically⁸ removing belly fat by liposuction could give patients a double benefit: a slimmer physique and a better metabolic⁹ profile.

That’s why there was such disappointment with the news, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine last week, that unlike losing weight the old-fashioned way—by eating less and moving more—liposuction makes no difference in a person’s biological risk factors.

Researchers in St. Louis, Mo., and Rome, Italy, conducted extensive tests on 15 obese¹⁰ women before and three months after they underwent liposuction. “ We removed 20 to 22 lbs of fat from each patient,” says Dr. Samuel Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis. That’s twice as much as is usually removed. The women were instructed not to diet or exercise more until the experiment was over. All reported that they felt better and could move more easily after surgery. But with respect to their metabolic risk factors, Klein says, “the data after the procedure were identical to the data before the procedure.”

How is that possible? Liposuction does not remove the fat cells found in the liver or the muscles, or the so-called visceral fat that surrounds internal organs. Nor does liposuction reduce the size of any remaining fat cells; large fat cells appear to produce more harmful proteins than do small ones. Some doctors believe the results would have been better if the patients had been only a few pounds overweight. In any case, the best way to shrink fat cells is still to create a negative energy balance by –you guessed it—eating fewer calories than you burn.

Disappointing as this study might be, there is still hope for folk who struggle with their weight. It’s becoming increasingly clear that even modest weight lose—of as little as 5%--can lead to real improvements in your health. The more weight you lose—and keep off—the better. But you don’t have to get all the way back to normal weight. Most of us will never see a model-slim figure in the mirror. But we can all lead healthier lives.

1 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

2 thighs   

n.股，大腿( thigh的名词复数 )；食用的鸡（等的）腿

参考例句：

• He's gone to London for skin grafts on his thighs. 他去伦敦做大腿植皮手术了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The water came up to the fisherman's thighs. 水没到了渔夫的大腿。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

5 abdominal   

adj.腹（部）的，下腹的；n.腹肌

参考例句：

• The abdominal aorta is normally smaller than the thoracic aorta.腹主动脉一般比胸主动脉小。
• Abdominal tissues sometimes adhere after an operation.手术之后腹部有时会出现粘连。

6 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

7 plausible   

adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的

参考例句：

• His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
• Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。

8 surgically   

adv. 外科手术上, 外科手术一般地

参考例句：

• Unsightly moles can be removed surgically. 不雅观的痣可以手术去除。
• To bypass this impediment an almost mature egg cell is removed surgically. 为了克服这一障碍，通过手术，取出一个差不多成熟的卵细胞。

9 metabolic   

adj.新陈代谢的

参考例句：

• Impressive metabolic alternations have been undergone during embryogenesis.在胚胎发生期间经历了深刻的代谢变化。
• A number of intoxicants are associated with metabolic acidosis.许多毒性物质可引起代谢性酸中毒。

10 obese   

adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的

参考例句：

• The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
• Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。