新奇事件簿 坚果帮助保持苗条身材

New research says eating nuts could be a valuable, tasty and nutritious¹ slimming aid. Researchers from Harvard University recommended that people replace a daily unhealthy snack with a small handful of nuts to slow down weight gain. They say this is especially helpful for people as they get older. The researchers found that people who ate just 14g of nuts every day gained less weight than those who ate another snack. The people who ate the nuts were less likely to become obese². However, the benefits to our weight could be quite small. The scientists said swapping³ chocolate, cakes and potato chips with nuts could help prevent a weight gain of just 0.4 to 0.7kg over four years.

新研究表示，吃坚果可能是一种既有价值又美味且有营养的减肥帮手。哈佛大学研究人员建议大家用少量坚果来代替日常不健康的零食，以减缓体重增加。他们表示，随着年龄的增长，这么做对人们尤其有帮助。 研究人员发现每天只吃14克坚果的人比每天吃一份零食的人体重增加得少。吃坚果的人更不可能肥胖。但对我们体重的好处可能很小。科学家表示，用坚果代替巧克力、蛋糕和薯片可以帮助人们在4年内减重0.4到0.7公斤。

The researchers conducted a long-term study in which they looked at the lifestyle of nearly 190,000 people over two decades. The participants in the research were divided into three groups. They included more than 51,000 male health professionals aged⁴ 40 to 75, 121,700 nurses aged 35 to 55 and 16,686 nurses aged 24 to 44. Researchers asked the participants questions every four years about their weight, how often they ate nuts, and how often they exercised. Researcher doctor Xiaoran Liu said: "Incorporating nuts into a healthy diet by replacing less healthy foods may help reduce the gradual weight gain common during adulthood⁵ and beneficially contribute to the prevention of obesity⁶."

研究人员进行了一项长期研究，他们观察了近20年来19万人的生活方式。研究参与者被分成三组。这三组包括年龄在40到75岁之间的51000名男性健康专业人士；年龄在35到55岁之间的121700名护士以及年龄在24到44之间的护士。研究人员每四年询问一次参与者关于他们的体重、多久吃一次坚果、多久锻炼一次的问题。研究人员Xiaoran Liu博士表示：“通过替换不太健康的食物，将坚果纳入健康饮食或许可以帮助减少成年期常见的体重逐渐增加，并有助于预防肥胖。”

1 nutritious   

adj.有营养的，营养价值高的

参考例句：

• Fresh vegetables are very nutritious.新鲜蔬菜富于营养。
• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。

2 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。

3 swapping   

交换，交换技术

参考例句：

• The slow swapping and buying of horses went on. 马匹的买卖和交换就是这样慢慢地进行着。
• He was quite keen on swapping books with friends. 他非常热衷于和朋友们交换书籍。

4 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

5 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。

6 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。