限时饮食可以预防甚至逆转肥胖

 　　Scientists, like mothers, have long suspected that midnight snacking is inadvisable. But until a few years ago, there was little in the way of science behind those suspicions. Now, a new study shows that mice prevented from eating at all hours avoided obesity¹ and metabolic² problems — even if their diet was sometimes unhealthful.

　　长期以来，母亲们都认为不宜在半夜吃零食，科学家们对此也持有相同的看法。但直到几年前，人们也只是有此怀疑，却没有多少科学证据可以支持它。现在，一项在小鼠中进行的新研究显示，即使有时候它们的饮食不够健康，但只要不是一天到晚吃个不停，就可避免肥胖和代谢问题。

　　Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego and elsewhere began experimenting with the eating patterns of laboratory mice in a previous study. On that occasion, some mice consumed high-fat food whenever they wanted; others had the same diet but could eat only during an eight-hour window. None exercised. The mice that ate at all hours soon grew chubby³ and unwell, with symptoms of diabetes⁴. But the mice on the eight-hour schedule gained little weight and developed no metabolic problems. Those results were published in 2012.

　　在此前的一项研究中，美国圣地亚哥索尔克生物研究所(Salk Institute for Biological Studies)和其他机构的研究人员们开始对实验室小鼠的饮食模式进行实验。在该研究中，有一部分小鼠可以依自己的喜好，随时食用高脂肪食物，而其他小鼠虽然也可以享用完全相同的饮食，但它们每天可以进食的时间限制在八小时。两组小鼠都未进行任何运动。全天均可进食的小鼠很快就胖得圆滚滚的，健康也发生了问题，出现了糖尿病的症状。但是严格遵照八小时时间表进食的小鼠体重几乎没有增加，而且也未出现代谢问题。上述研究结果在2012年发表。

　　限时饮食可以预防甚至逆转肥胖

　　For the new study, which appeared in the journal Cell Metabolism⁵ in December, Salk scientists fed groups of adult males one of four diets: high-fat, high-fructose, high-fat and high-sucrose, and regular mouse kibble. Some of the mice in each dietary group were allowed to eat whenever they wanted throughout their waking hours; others were restricted to feeding periods of nine, 12 or 15 hours. The caloric intake⁶ for all the mice was the same.

　　而在去年12月发表于《细胞-代谢》(Cell Metabolism)杂志上的新研究中，索尔克生物研究所的科学家们分别以四种不同的饮食喂养四组成年雄性小鼠：高脂肪、高果糖、高脂肪兼高糖以及普通鼠粮。在每个饮食组中，又允许一部分小鼠在清醒状态下的任何时候进食，其他小鼠每天的进食时间则分别限制在9、12或15小时。所有小鼠摄入的热量卡路里数均相同。

　　Over the course of the 38-week experiment, some of the mice in the time-restricted groups were allowed to cheat on weekends and eat whenever they chose. A few of the eat-anytime mice were shifted to the restricted windows midway through the study.

　　在为期38周的实验过程中，限时进食的小鼠中又有一部分获准在周末“放纵一下”，随心所欲地在任何时间进食。在研究的中途，还有几只原本随时可以进食的小鼠被转移入限时进食组。

　　By the end, the mice eating at all hours were generally obese⁷ and metabolically⁸ ill, reproducing the results of the earlier study. But those mice that ate within a nine- or 12-hour window remained sleek⁹ and healthy, even if they cheated occasionally on weekends. What’s more, mice that were switched out of an eat-anytime schedule lost some of the weight they had gained.

　　在研究结束时，随时可以进食的小鼠普遍都变得肥胖，并患上了代谢疾病，这印证了早期的研究结果。但相比之下，即使周末偶有放肆，那些平时每天只有9或12小时可以进食的小鼠体型保持得很好，身体也很健康。更重要的是，从随时进食组转入限时进食组的小鼠原本增加的体重也有一定程度的减轻。

　　“Time-restricted eating didn’t just prevent but also reversed obesity,” says Satchidananda Panda, an associate professor at the Salk Institute who oversaw¹⁰ the studies. “That was exciting to see.” Mice that consumed regular kibble in fixed¹¹ time periods also had less body fat than those that ate the same food whenever they chose.

　　“限时饮食不仅可以预防肥胖，还可以逆转肥胖，”该研究的负责人，索尔克生物研究所的副教授萨特旦安达·潘达(Satchidananda Panda)说，“这样的发现真令人兴奋。”此外，与在一天的任何时间都可以食用鼠粮的小鼠相比，每天只能在固定时段食用相同食物的小鼠的体脂肪量也较低。

　　Precisely¹² how a time-based eating pattern staved off weight gain and illness is not fully¹³ understood, but Dr. Panda and his colleagues believe that the time at which food is eaten influences a body’s internal clock. “Meal times have more effect on circadian rhythm than dark and light cycles,” Dr. Panda says. And circadian rhythm in turn affects the function of many genes¹⁴ in the body that are known to involve metabolism.

　　目前尚不完全清楚基于时间的进食模式是如何避免体重增加和疾病的，不过，潘达博士及其同事们认为，进食的时间影响了身体内部的生物钟。潘达博士指出：“进食时间对昼夜节律的影响比光暗周期更大。”反过来，昼夜节律又可以影响体内许多已知与新陈代谢有关的基因的功能。

　　To date, Dr. Panda’s studies have been conducted with only mice, but he says the results seem likely to apply to humans. The upshot: Contain your eating to 12 hours a day or less. And pay attention to when you begin. The clock starts, Dr. Panda says, with “that first cup of coffee with cream and sugar in the morning.”

　　迄今为止，潘达博士仅在小鼠身上进行了研究，但他相信这些结果有可能同样适用于人类。因此我们最好将一天中的饮食时间限制在12小时或12小时之内，并留心每天开始进食的时间。“当你早上饮用第一杯加了奶油和糖的咖啡时”，计时就开始了，潘达博士说。

1 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

2 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。

3 chubby   

adj.丰满的，圆胖的

参考例句：

• He is stocky though not chubby.他长得敦实，可并不发胖。
• The short and chubby gentleman over there is our new director.那个既矮又胖的绅士是我们的新主任。

4 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。

5 metabolism   

n.新陈代谢

参考例句：

• After years of dieting,Carol's metabolism was completely out of whack.经过数年的节食，卡罗尔的新陈代谢完全紊乱了。
• All living matter undergoes a process of metabolism.生物都有新陈代谢。

6 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。

7 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。

8 metabolically   

代谢的（metabolic的副词形式）

参考例句：

• Intact skin is a highly complex, metabolically active organ. 完整的皮肤是一个高度复杂、代谢灵敏的器官。 来自辞典例句

9 sleek   

adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢

参考例句：

• Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。
• The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。

10 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

11 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

12 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

13 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

14 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪