2006年VOA标准英语-World Health Organization Releases Child G

By Amy Katz
Washington, DC
01 May 2006
 
watch Child Growth report
 
  
  
The World Health Organization -- or WHO -- has recently released its first-ever international growth standards for infants and young children.  The United Nations health agency found that all children are similar in how they develop -- if they are adequately nurtured¹.  The new guidelines were created to help make that happen.

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The W.H.O. says it now has scientific evidence that infants and children from all over the world have very similar growth patterns when they are given good care and nutrition. 

Cutberto Garza, Director of the United Nations University Food and Nutrition Programme, says this study provides new reference. 

Cutberto Garza   
  
"For the first time, the world has a new reference of a new standard for child growth that is based on a prescriptive approach, unlike past approaches that have attempted to define child growth as representative of a population and therefore describing how children grew at particular time or a particular place.  We are now able to describe how children should grow, regardless of time and place."

The WHO's survey shows that differences in children's growth up to the age of five are more the result of feeding practices, overall nutrition, environment and health care than genetics or ethnicity.

The new standards are intended to provide parents, doctors and policymakers a way to measure whether the nutrition and health care needs of children are being met.  The hope is that any growth-related condition -- whether it is poor nutrition or obesity² -- can be detected and addressed at an early stage.

1 nurtured   

养育( nurture的过去式和过去分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长

参考例句：

• She is looking fondly at the plants he had nurtured. 她深情地看着他培育的植物。
• Any latter-day Einstein would still be spotted and nurtured. 任何一个未来的爱因斯坦都会被发现并受到培养。

2 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。