肥胖者日益增加 醫療成本負擔加重

經濟合作暨發展組織2月21日公布報告指出，愈來愈多已開發國家的民眾體重過重或比先前更胖，導致長年身體健康惡化、醫療照護成本提高及醫療體系負擔增加等問題。 More people in developed countries are overweight or obese than ever before, dooming them to years of ill health, pushing up healthcare costs and piling（1） more pressure on health systems, a report by the OECD found on Tuesday. 總部位在巴黎的經濟合作暨發展組織發現，不同國家的肥胖率呈現明顯差異，日本與南韓的肥胖率是4％，美國與墨西哥高達30％或更高。 The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found obesity（2） rates vary widely from a low of 4 percent in Japan and Korea to 30 percent or more in the United States and Mexico. 然而，經濟合作暨發展組織34個成員國當中，目前有半數以上的國家，其民眾每2人至少就有1人過重或肥胖，肥胖率預計還會再上升。報告指出，某些國家在未來10年內，每3人就有2人肥胖。 But in more than half of the 34 OECD countries, at least one in two people is now overweight or obese, and rates are projected to rise further. In some countries, two out of three people will be obese within 10 years, the report said. 報告作者寫道：「（這些人）將減少壽命，並導致醫療照顧成本的增加。」專家表示，嚴重肥胖者的平均壽命比正常體重者少8到10年，且每多增加15公斤，早死機率就會增加30％。 "(These people) will die early, and send healthcare costs ever higher," the report's authors wrote. Experts say severely obese people die on average eight to 10 years sooner than people at normal weight, with every 15 extra kg increasing risk of early death by around 30 percent. 根據世界衛生組織的定義，身體質量指數（BMI）超過30即為肥胖。在大多數國家中，與肥胖相關的支出占總醫療支出1％至3％，美國占5％至10％。報告指出，「與肥胖相關的疾病在未來幾年開始盛行之後，成本將會快速增加」。 Obesity, defined by the World Health Organisation as a body mass index（3） of more than 30, is estimated to be responsible for between 1 and 3 percent of total health spending in most countries - and for between 5 and 10 percent in the United States - and "costs will rise rapidly in coming years as obesity related diseases set in," the OECD report said. 身體質量指數是比較身高與體重的測量方式，若民眾的身體質量指數超過25公斤／公尺的平方（kg／m2）就是過重，超過30公斤／公尺的平方（kg／m2）就是肥胖。 Body mass index or BMI is a measurement which compares weight and height. People are defined as overweight if their BMI is greater than 25 kg per meter squared (kg/m2) and obese if it is greater than 30 kg/m2. 去年一項大規模全球調查發現，肥胖人口超過5億，也就是全世界每10名成人就有1人肥胖。另外，肥胖問題正快速從富裕國家盛行至貧窮國家。 A large global study last year found that more than half a billion people, or one in 10 adults worldwide, were obese and that the obesity epidemic（4） was rapidly spilling over from wealthy into poorer nations. 經濟合作暨發展組織表示，2012年的報告將2010年的報告《肥胖與預防的經濟學》加以更新，而這份報告也發現一些好消息。 This report, which the OECD said was a 2012 update to its 2010 report on the economics of obesity prevention entitled "Fit Not Fat," did however find some good news. 新資料顯示，經濟合作暨發展組織34個成員國中，有10國在過去10年的肥胖率趨緩或停止上升，如英格蘭、匈牙利、義大利、南韓及瑞士等國；法國與西班牙僅增加2至3的百分點；但在加拿大、愛爾蘭及美國，肥胖率上升4到5個百分點。 New data for 10 of the 34 OECD countries showed that over the past decade, obesity rates slowed or stopped growing in England, Hungary, Italy, Korea and Switzerland, and grew by only 2 to 3 percent in France and Spain. Yet in Canada, Ireland and the United States obesity rates rose by 4 to 5 percent. 在孩童肥胖率部分，英格蘭、法國、南韓與美國趨於穩定，經濟合作暨發展組織認為這多少與政府努力解決肥胖根源有關。 Looking at childhood obesity, rates have stabilized England, France, Korea and the United States and the OECD said this was partly due to governments stepping up efforts to tackle（5） the root causes of obesity. 報告也強調，包括丹麥、芬蘭、法國與匈牙利等政府，在2011年通過立法，對高脂肪與高糖分的食物徵收較高的稅。 It noted that some governments, including those in Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, had passed legislation in 2011 imposing higher tax rates on high-fat or high-sugar foods.（路透Reuters） 關鍵字詞 1. pile (v.) 堆積 2. obesity (b.) 肥胖 3. body mass index (n.) 身體質量指數（縮寫為BMI） 4. epidemic (n.) 流行病 5. tackle (v.) 解決