久坐危害有多大？比你想的更严重

今天你练听力了吗？

🤔️小作业：

1. Why does the article mention that American workers burn about 100 fewer calories per day than 50 years ago?

A. To show that modern diets have improved

B. To highlight the economic impact of sedentary lifestyles

C. To provide evidence linking increased sitting with reduced energy expenditure

D. To argue that walking is more efficient than sitting

无注释原文：

Why Sitting All Day May Shorten Your Life

From: The New York Times

We've all heard that sitting too long is bad for you. We're not evolved to do it, it can undermine our exercise gains, it causes dead butt syndrome. Sitting might not quite be “the new smoking,” but too much of it can still shorten your life.

“Sitting is actually aging you faster,” said Katy Bowman, a biomechanist and author of “My Perfect Movement Plan.” Whether it's bone or joint health, muscle mass or energy level, she added, “a lot of what you perceive as aging is going to be heavily influenced by your sitting time.”

And we spend a lot of time sitting. Numbers vary around how much average Americans sit per day, but it may be as long as nine and a half hours. Studies suggest women sit less than men do, but most agree we all sit more than previous generations did.

The consequences can be serious. A study published at the beginning of the year followed 480,000 people in Taiwan over 13 years and found those who sit most of the work day had a 34 percent higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than those with less sedentary jobs did — and a 16 percent higher risk of mortality overall.

One way to lower the risk, the authors wrote, was to add 15 to 30 minutes of physical activity per day to your existing routine. Other studies go further, suggesting sedentary people need to double the standard weekly exercise recommendations.

“The bottom line is that too much sitting is a big new health risk,” said Neville Owen, a senior scientist at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia.

Put simply, uninterrupted sitting is bad for your heart, joints, muscles, metabolism and mental health.

The American Heart Association notes that prolonged sitting raises the risk of developing heart disease or stroke, even for those who exercise regularly. It can take as little as 30 minutes of uninterrupted sitting to affect how blood vessels function. And the longer you sit, the higher the cardiovascular risks, especially if you are sitting for more than 10 hours.

Sitting for extended periods has also been linked to lower back pain. Small studies suggest the height of your lumbar disc might be compressed after sitting more than four hours without interruption.

Furthermore, your large leg and gluteal muscles can stop activating after just 30 minutes of sitting, Dr. Owen said. Over time, they can weaken and cause back or knee pain.

Sitting also doesn't burn much energy. Over time, a sedentary lifestyle can affect your ability to regulate blood sugar and break down fat, potentially leading to weight gain and Type 2 diabetes. American workers today burn about 100 fewer calories per day than they did 50 years ago. That's roughly equal to 30 minutes of walking, said Thom Rieck, an exercise specialist at the Mayo Healthy Living Program in Rochester, Minn.

Lastly, sitting affects mood and cognition, increasing the odds of depression and anxiety.

- ◆ -

注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为纽约时报官方译文，仅供参考

含注释全文：

Why Sitting All Day May Shorten Your Life

From: The New York Times

We've all heard that sitting too long is bad for you. We're not evolved to do it, it can undermine our exercise gains, it causes dead butt syndrome. Sitting might not quite be “the new smoking,” but too much of it can still shorten your life.

我们都听说过久坐对身体不好。人类的进化并未考虑久坐这一需求，久坐会抵消运动带来的益处，还会导致臀肌失忆症。虽说可能算不上“堪比吸烟的危害”，但过于久坐仍可能缩短寿命。

evolve /ɪˈvɒlv/ 表示“（使）逐渐形成，逐步发展，逐渐演变，进化”，英文解释为“to develop gradually, especially from a simple to a more complicated form; to develop sth in this way”举个🌰：The company has evolved into a major chemical manufacturer. 这家公司已逐步发展成一个主要的化工厂。

undermine /ˌʌn.dəˈmaɪn/ 表示“（常指逐渐地）削弱信心、权威等，损害”，英文解释为“to make someone less confident, less powerful, or less likely to succeed, or to make something weaker, often gradually”举个🌰：Criticism just undermines their confidence. 批评只是削弱了他们的信心。

butt /bʌt/ 表示“臀部，屁股”，英文解释为“slang for bottom”

syndrome /ˈsɪndrəʊm/ 表示“综合征，征群，综合症状”，英文解释为“a combination of medical problems that shows the existence of a particular disease or mental condition”

“Sitting is actually aging you faster,” said Katy Bowman, a biomechanist and author of “My Perfect Movement Plan.” Whether it's bone or joint health, muscle mass or energy level, she added, “a lot of what you perceive as aging is going to be heavily influenced by your sitting time.”

“久坐实际上会加速衰老，”生物力学家、《完美运动计划》作者凯蒂·鲍曼表示。无论是骨骼或关节健康、肌肉量还是能量水平，她还说，“许多你觉得是衰老的现象其实都深受久坐时间的影响。”

由 “Bio-”（生物的）和 “-mechanist”（机械师、力学专家）组成。它的中文直译是 “生物力学家”，英文解释为“A biomechanist is a scientist who studies how physical forces affect living organisms, applying principles of mechanics to understand movement, prevent injury, and improve performance in sports, healthcare, and product design.”

作名词，joint /dʒɔɪnt/ 1）表示“关节”，英文解释为“a place in your body where two bones are connected”如：an elbow/hip/knee joint 肘/髋/膝关节。

2）表示“（出售廉价饮食的）酒吧（或餐馆）”，英文解释为“a bar or restaurant that serves food and drink at low prices”举个🌰：We had lunch at a hamburger joint and then went to see a movie. 我们在一家汉堡包小店吃了午饭，然后去看电影。

3）表示“不良场所（声名狼藉的公众娱乐场所）”，英文解释为“a place where people go for entertainment, especially one that has a bad reputation”举个🌰：He owned several bars in the city and ran an illegal gambling joint. 他在市里拥有好几家酒吧，还经营着一个非法赌场。

perceive /pəˈsiːv/ 1）表示“感知，察觉，注意到，意识到”，英文解释为“to see something or someone, or to notice something that is obvious”举个🌰：He perceived a tiny figure in the distance. 他注意到远处有个很小的身影。

2）表示“认为；看待；视为”，英文解释为“to come to an opinion about something, or have a belief about something”举个🌰：How do the French perceive the British? 法国人是如何看待英国人的？

📍《经济学人》（The Economist）一篇讲述Bitcoin的文章中提到：Scarcity is a trait of many things that are perceived to have value. 稀缺性正是许多被视为有价值的事物共有的特征。

And we spend a lot of time sitting. Numbers vary around how much average Americans sit per day, but it may be as long as nine and a half hours. Studies suggest women sit less than men do, but most agree we all sit more than previous generations did.

我们有很多时间是坐着。美国人平均每天坐多长时间的数据各不相同，但可能长达九个半小时。研究表明女性坐着的时间比男性少，但普遍共识是我们都比前几代人坐得更多。

The consequences can be serious. A study published at the beginning of the year followed 480,000 people in Taiwan over 13 years and found those who sit most of the work day had a 34 percent higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than those with less sedentary jobs did — and a 16 percent higher risk of mortality overall.

后果可能很严重。年初一项追踪中国台湾48万人长达13年的研究发现，大部分工作时间都坐着的人死于心血管疾病的风险比较少久坐工作的人高34%，总体死亡风险高16%。

cardiovascular /ˌkɑːdɪəʊˈvæskjʊlə/ 表示“心血管的”，英文解释为“Cardiovascular means relating to the heart and blood vessels.”举个🌰：Smoking places you at serious risk of cardiovascular and respiratory disease. 吸烟会严重增加罹患心血管和呼吸道疾病的风险。

sedentary /ˈsed.ən.tər.i/ 表示“需要久坐的；缺乏锻炼的，少活动的”，英文解释为“involving little exercise or physical activity”如：a sedentary job/occupation 久坐的工作/职业。

mortality /mɔːˈtælɪtɪ/ 表示“死亡数量；死亡率”，英文解释为“the number of deaths in a particular situation or period of time”

区分：

📍morbidity /mɔːˈbɪdɪtɪ/ 表示“发病（率）”，英文解释为“the morbidity of a disease is how many people have it in a particular population”

One way to lower the risk, the authors wrote, was to add 15 to 30 minutes of physical activity per day to your existing routine. Other studies go further, suggesting sedentary people need to double the standard weekly exercise recommendations.

作者写道，降低风险的一种方法是在现有日常活动中每天增加15到30分钟的体育活动。其他研究更进一步指出，久坐者需要将每周标准运动量加倍。

recommendation /ˌrek.ə.menˈdeɪ.ʃən/ 1）表示“提议，建议；意见”，英文解释为“advice telling someone what the best thing to do is”举个🌰：The report makes the recommendation that no more prisons should be built. 该报告建议不要再建新的监狱。

2）表示“推荐，介绍”，英文解释为“a suggestion that something is good or suitable for a particular purpose or job”举个🌰：I bought this computer on his recommendation (= because he told me that it was good). 我买的这台电脑是他推荐的。

“The bottom line is that too much sitting is a big new health risk,” said Neville Owen, a senior scientist at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia.

“关键在于久坐已成为新的重大健康风险，”澳大利亚墨尔本贝克心脏与糖尿病研究所资深科学家内维尔·欧文表示。

1）表示“底线；最重要的事实”，英文解释为“the most important fact in a situation”

2）表示“损益表底线；盈亏一览结算线”，英文解释为“the final line in the accounts of a company or organization, stating the total profit or loss that has been made”举个🌰：How will the rise in interest rates affect our bottom line? 利率上升对我们的盈亏状况会有什么影响？

Put simply, uninterrupted sitting is bad for your heart, joints, muscles, metabolism and mental health.

简单来说，不间断的久坐对你的心脏、关节、肌肉、新陈代谢和心理健康都不好。

uninterrupted /ʌnˌɪn.tərˈʌp.tɪd/ 表示“（尤指一段时间）持续的，不间断的”，英文解释为“without any pauses or interruptions ”举个🌰：Most people do not get eight hours of uninterrupted sleep every night. 大部分人不会每晚都有8小时不间断的睡眠。

metabolism /mɪˈtæbəˌlɪzəm/ 表示“新陈代谢”，英文解释为“the chemical processes in living things that change food, etc. into energy and materials for growth”举个🌰：The body's metabolism is slowed down by extreme cold. 严寒可以使身体新陈代谢的速度下降。

The American Heart Association notes that prolonged sitting raises the risk of developing heart disease or stroke, even for those who exercise regularly. It can take as little as 30 minutes of uninterrupted sitting to affect how blood vessels function. And the longer you sit, the higher the cardiovascular risks, especially if you are sitting for more than 10 hours.

美国心脏协会指出，长时间久坐会增加患心脏病或中风的风险，即使对于那些经常锻炼的人也是如此。仅仅30分钟的不间断久坐就可能影响血管功能。坐得越久，心血管风险越高，尤其是每日久坐超过10小时者。

prolonged /prəˈlɒŋd/ 表示“延续很久的，长期的”，英文解释为“continuing for a long time”举个🌰：Prolonged use of the drug is known to have harmful side-effects. 据了解，长期服用此药会产生对人体有害的副作用。

stroke /strəʊk/ 表示“中风”，英文解释为“a sudden change in the blood supply to a part of the brain, sometimes causing a loss of the ability to move particular parts of the body”举个🌰：She suffered/had a stroke that left her unable to speak. 她中风了，不能开口说话。

blood vessel /ˈblʌd ˌves.əl/ 表示“血管”，英文解释为“any of the tubes through which blood flows in the body”

Sitting for extended periods has also been linked to lower back pain. Small studies suggest the height of your lumbar disc might be compressed after sitting more than four hours without interruption.

长期久坐还与腰痛相关。多个小型研究表明，连续久坐超四小时可能导致腰椎椎间盘退变。

lumbar /ˈlʌm.bər/ 表示“腰的，腰部的”，英文解释为“relating to the lower part of the back”

disc /dɪsk/ 表示“椎间盘”，英文解释为“a small piece of cartilage (= strong body tissue that stretches) between the bones in your back”

Furthermore, your large leg and gluteal muscles can stop activating after just 30 minutes of sitting, Dr. Owen said. Over time, they can weaken and cause back or knee pain.

欧文指出，此外，仅坐30分钟就会使腿部及臀大肌停止激活。久而久之，这些肌肉会变弱，引发背部或膝盖疼痛。

gluteal /ˈɡluː.ti.əl/ 表示“和臀部（尤指臀大肌）有关的”，英文解释为“relating to the buttocks (= the two soft parts of a person's bottom), especially the muscles”举个🌰：The gluteal muscles are important for standing up, walking, and running. 臀部肌肉对站起、行走和跑步很重要。

Sitting also doesn't burn much energy. Over time, a sedentary lifestyle can affect your ability to regulate blood sugar and break down fat, potentially leading to weight gain and Type 2 diabetes. American workers today burn about 100 fewer calories per day than they did 50 years ago. That's roughly equal to 30 minutes of walking, said Thom Rieck, an exercise specialist at the Mayo Healthy Living Program in Rochester, Minn.

此外，久坐几乎不消耗能量。随着时间的推移，久坐不动的生活方式会影响身体调节血糖和分解脂肪的能力，可能导致体重增加和2型糖尿病。明尼苏达州罗切斯特梅奥健康生活项目运动专家汤姆·里克说，如今的美国劳动者每天的热量消耗比50年前少约100卡路里。这大约相当于步行30分钟消耗的热量。

diabetes /ˌdaɪəˈbiːtɪs, -tiːz/ 表示“糖尿病”，英文解释为“a disease in which the body cannot control the level of sugar in the blood.”

Lastly, sitting affects mood and cognition, increasing the odds of depression and anxiety.

久坐还会影响情绪和认知，增加抑郁和焦虑的几率。

cognition /kɒɡˈnɪʃ.ən/ 表示“认识；认知”，英文解释为“the use of conscious mental processes”如：a book on human learning, memory, and cognition 一本关于人类学习、记忆和认知过程的书。

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