Sit Less, Live Longer
少坐，更长寿
From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语健康报道。
If you are sitting down listening to this Health Report, stand up. Move your legs. Touch your toes, if you can. Do anything but sit.
如果你现在正坐着听本期的健康报道，那么请站起来，动动腿，如果可以的话，就触摸一下你的脚趾头，除了坐着，做其他任何事情都行。
If you cut down on the time you spend sitting, you might live longer. New research shows that sitting less than three hours a day might extend your life by two years.
如果你减少你坐的时间，那么你可能会活的更久。新的研究表明，每天保证坐的时间不超过3个小时，你就可能多活两年。
The human body is designed to move. But modern lifestyles and office jobs rarely give us the chance to move around.
人体是被设计来用于运动的，但是现代生活方式和办公室工作很少给我们走动的机会。
Just the opposite, says Peter Katzmarzyk. He is a scientist at the University of Louisiana in the southern United States. He says that sitting is ubiquitous in our lives, meaning it is something we do all the time, everywhere. But, he adds, that does not make sitting good for us.
彼得·卡兹马兹克称，恰恰相反。他是美国南部路易斯安那州一个大学的科学家，他称，坐在我们的生活中无处不在，这意味着我们无论何时都老是坐着。但是他补充称，这并不意味着坐对我们有利。
“Sitting is ubiquitous in our lives today. You know, we sit while we’re eating, we sit in the car, we sit while we watch TV. And many of us sit for many hours at work. So on average, Americans report that they sit between four and a half to five hours a day.”
他说：“现在在我们的生活中，坐无处不在，我们在吃饭的时候，是坐着的，我们在车里时，是坐着的，我们在看电视时是坐着的。而且我们大多数人在工作时都要坐着好几个小时。所以美国人报告称，平均来说，他们平均每天坐4.5到5个小时。”
Exercise is important. But so is not sitting.
运动锻炼很重要，所以不要坐着。
Mr. Katzmarzyk says you may exercise often. But, he says even that does not mean you can sit for the rest of your waking hours.
卡兹马兹克先生称你可能经常锻炼，但是他称，这并不意味着你可以在你其余清醒的时间里去坐着。
“We can’t throw away physical activity. It’s extremely important. We have 60 years of research showing us that. But sedentary behavior is also important -- even if you exercise for 30 minutes a day. What goes on in the other 23-and-a-half hours a day is also very important.”
“锻炼运动很重要，所以我们不能放弃。我们有60年的研究可以去为我们展示这一点。但是久坐行为的影响也很大，即使你每天都锻炼30分钟，在剩下的其余23个半小时怎么做的也很重要。”
Mr. Katzmarzyk and his co-workers, or colleagues, are part of a new generation of researchers studying how sitting all day affects length of life. Such studies are rare.
新一代的研究人员现在正在研究整天坐着如何影响生命的长度，卡兹马兹克先生和他的同事也是这些研究人员中的成员。这样的研究很少。
“This is a relatively new area of study - studies that have assessed the relationship between sitting and mortality or television viewing and mortality are very rare. There’s only been a few of them, actually five or six now, in the last four or five years.”
“这是一个相对较新的研究领域，这种评估坐和死亡率之间的关系和评估看电视和死亡率之间的关系是非常罕见的，在过去的四、五年里这方面的研究都很少，实际上到现在也只有4、5项这类的研究。”
卡兹马兹克先生和他的同事借助了他们可以获得的这些少见的研究。他们发现，每天看电视的时间减少到2个小时以内，寿命可以延长1.4年。
Mr. Karzmarzyk and his colleagues used the few rare studies available to them. They found that cutting television time to less than two hours a day could add one-point four years to life.
卡兹马兹克先生和他的同事们利用了提供给他们的那些罕见的研究，然后发现，每天把看电视的时间削减到少于2个小时，可以是寿命延长1.4年。
New desk designs are helping
新办公桌的设计很有益处
Change is already coming to some offices, especially in the design of desks. A “standing desk” lets people stand while they work. Another new design is called the “treadmill desk.” A treadmill is an exercise machine that lets you walk in one place. Even some U.S. schools are beginning to experiment with desks that are part bicycle to keep children moving.
变化已经来到一些办公室，特别是在办公桌的设计上。有一种“立式办公桌”让人们在工作时可以站着。还有另一项被称为“跑步机办公桌”的新设计。跑步机是一种可以让你在原地移动的运动器械。甚至有一些美国学校开始尝试半自行车式的课桌，来让孩子们保持运动。
“That’s one of the strategies that many companies are using now. They may have got five standing desks for their employees or a treadmill desk. I’ve heard of other companies where they may not buy one for everybody .. but they’ll have a bank of these desks where people can go for an hour a day and answer their emails or talk on the phone.”
“这是现在很多公司正在使用的策略之一，他们可能已经为其员工买了立式办公桌或跑步机办公桌。我听说有些其他公司不会给每个人都买一个这种办公桌，但是他们会放在那一些这样的桌子，员工们每天可以去那回复邮件或打电话，去使用这种桌子一个小时。”
Mr. Katzmarzyk says studying this problem has inspired his team to make a few changes in their own lives.
卡兹马兹克先生称，对这个问题的研究激发了他的团队去对自己的生活做一些改变。
“As a university professor, you know, it is a very sedentary occupation. We’re chained to a desk in terms of writing papers and doing research. We really try to limit the amount of time we spend doing that.”
“你知道，作为一个大学教授，这是一个易于久坐的职业。当我们写论文或做研究时，我们像是被拴在桌子上。我们真的在试图限制我们这样做所花费的时间。”
Suggestions for sitting less
对于少坐的建议
If you work in office job or have a sedentary job, Mr. Katzmarzyk and his team suggest a few simple changes:
如果你在办公室工作或从事需要久坐的工作时，卡兹马兹克先生和他的团队建议最一些简单的改变：
· get up from your desk as often as you can
尽可能的脱离凳子，经常站起来
· take walks at lunch time
午饭时间要进行散步
· instead of emailing colleagues, walk to their offices and talk directly
不要给同事们发邮件，而要走到他们的办公室，直接告诉他们。
All these activities may help you live longer.
所有这些活动都可以帮助你活得更久。
Research on the good effects of sitting less is published in the online journal, British Medical Journal Open.
关于少坐的益处的研究被发表在在线期刊《英国医学杂志公开版》上。
And that’s the Health Report, from VOA Learning English. I’m Anna Matteo.
这就是本期美国之音慢速英语健康报道的全部内容，我是安娜·马泰奥。
[page]听力原文[/page]
Sit Less, Live Longer
From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.
If you are sitting down listening to this Health Report, stand up. Move your legs. Touch your toes, if you can. Do anything but sit.
If you cut down on the time you spend sitting, you might live longer. New research shows that sitting less than three hours a day might extend your life by two years.
The human body is designed to move. But modern lifestyles and office jobs rarely give us the chance to move around.
 |
Just the opposite, says Peter Katzmarzyk. He is a scientist at the University of Louisiana in the southern United States. He says that sitting is ubiquitous in our lives, meaning it is something we do all the time, everywhere. But, he adds, that does not make sitting good for us.
“Sitting is ubiquitous in our lives today. You know, we sit while we’re eating, we sit in the car, we sit while we watch TV. And many of us sit for many hours at work. So on average, Americans report that they sit between four and a half to five hours a day.”
Exercise is important. But so is not sitting.
Mr. Katzmarzyk says you may exercise often. But, he says even that does not mean you can sit for the rest of your waking hours.
“We can’t throw away physical activity. It’s extremely important. We have 60 years of research showing us that. But sedentary behavior is also important -- even if you exercise for 30 minutes a day. What goes on in the other 23-and-a-half hours a day is also very important.”
Mr. Katzmarzyk and his co-workers, or colleagues, are part of a new generation of researchers studying how sitting all day affects length of life. Such studies are rare.
“This is a relatively new area of study - studies that have assessed the relationship between sitting and mortality or television viewing and mortality are very rare. There’s only been a few of them, actually five or six now, in the last four or five years.”
Mr. Karzmarzyk and his colleagues used the few rare studies available to them. They found that cutting television time to less than two hours a day could add one-point four years to life.
New desk designs are helping
Change is already coming to some offices, especially in the design of desks. A “standing desk” lets people stand while they work. Another new design is called the “treadmill desk.” A treadmill is an exercise machine that lets you walk in one place. Even some U.S. schools are beginning to experiment with desks that are part bicycle to keep children moving.
“That’s one of the strategies that many companies are using now. They may have got five standing desks for their employees or a treadmill desk. I’ve heard of other companies where they may not buy one for everybody .. but they’ll have a bank of these desks where people can go for an hour a day and answer their emails or talk on the phone.”
Mr. Katzmarzyk says studying this problem has inspired his team to make a few changes in their own lives.
“As a university professor, you know, it is a very sedentary occupation. We’re chained to a desk in terms of writing papers and doing research. We really try to limit the amount of time we spend doing that.”
Suggestions for sitting less
If you work in office job or have a sedentary job, Mr. Katzmarzyk and his team suggest a few simple changes:
· get up from your desk as often as you can
· take walks at lunch time
· instead of emailing colleagues, walk to their offices and talk directly
All these activities may help you live longer.
Research on the good effects of sitting less is published in the online journal, British Medical Journal Open.
And that’s the Health Report, from VOA Learning English. I’m Anna Matteo.
Rebecca Widiss wrote this story. Anna Matteo wrote the Learning English version. Caty Weaver edited it.
__________________________
Words in this Story
ubiquitous - adj. existing or being everywhere at the same time
mortality - n. the quality or state of being a person or thing that is alive and therefore certain to die
activity - n. something that is done as work or for a particular purpose; something that is done for pleasure and that usually involves a group of people
treadmill – n. an exercise machine which has a large belt that moves around while a person walks or runs on it
inspire – v. to make (someone) want to do something
sedentary – adj. doing or involving a lot of sitting; not doing or involving much physical activity
