BBC随身英语｜为什么压力会让你变胖？

Why stress makes you fat? 为什么压力会让你变胖？

Have you ever had a stressful day? Many people do in the course of their daily lives. And on these high-pressure days, they might find themselves reaching for a sugary snack. Perhaps this is part of their daily routine. Or perhaps on this particular day, their self-control is a bit low and they feel compelled to take a sugar hit.
你有过压力很大的一天吗？在日常生活中，很多人都遇到过。在这些高压的日子里，他们可能会发现自己很想吃含糖零食。也许这是他们日常生活的一部分。又或者，在这一天，他们的自制力有点差，他们有一种想要吃点含糖食物的冲动。

Stress is natural. That feeling of strain or pressure is a biological response, and under the right circumstances can be a great source of motivation. However, too much stress, especially chronic stress, has been linked to sleep disruption, a higher likelihood of a stroke, heart-attack, ulcer or depression, among other things.  But why should stress make a person comfort eat?
这种紧张或压力的感觉是一种生物反应，在适当的情况下可以成为一种巨大的动力来源。然而，过度的压力，尤其是长期压力，会导致睡眠中断，以及中风、心脏病发作、溃疡或抑郁症等风险增加。但为什么压力会让寻求安慰性进食呢？

Dr Giles Yeo, a member of the BBC's Trust Me, I'm a Doctor team, got together with scientists from Leeds University to conduct an experiment into the effect of stress on blood sugar. Dr Yeo was subjected to a stress test. In the first stage, he was forced to answer mathematical questions rapidly. In the second, he had to immerse his hand in a bath of ice-cold water for a period of time.
BBC的“相信我，我是医生”团队成员Giles Yeo博士与利兹大学的科学家们一起进行了一项关于压力对血糖影响的实验。Yeo博士接受了压力测试。在第一阶段，他被迫快速回答数学问题。第二阶段，他不得不将手浸入冰水中一段时间。

Before and after these tests, the Leeds scientists would measure Dr Yeo's blood sugar levels. These are the levels which rise when we eat as our body takes in the energy of the food. In a healthy person, these levels quickly return to normal. However, when Dr Yeo was being deliberately subjected to stress, his blood sugar took six times longer to drop than on a stress-free day.
在这些测试前后，利兹大学的科学家们将测量Yeo博士的血糖水平。当我们进食时，身体会吸收食物中的能量，从而使血糖水平升高。对于一个健康的人，血糖水平会很快恢复正常。然而，当Yeo博士被故意施加压力时，他的血糖下降时间是无压力时的六倍。

When we become stressed, our bodies enter ‘fight or flight' mode. Because our body believes it's under attack, it releases glucose into the blood to provide energy for muscles. However, if we don't use that energy, our body then releases insulin to make the blood sugar levels drop. This drop causes a hunger response: you want to eat. And what you particularly crave is sugary food, which rapidly replenishes the energy you have lost. If this happens repeatedly, over a long enough period, these high-calorie foods can lead to obesity.
当我们感到压力时，身体会进入“战斗或逃跑”模式。因为我们的身体认为自己受到了攻击，所以它会向血液中释放葡萄糖，为肌肉提供能量。然而，如果我们不利用这些能量，我们的身体就会释放胰岛素来降低血糖水平。这种下降会引起饥饿反应：你想吃东西。你特别渴望的是含糖食物，它能迅速补充你失去的能量。如果这种情况长期反复发生，这些高热量食物就会导致肥胖。

So what can we do to combat the stress? In an article for the BBC, Dr Michael Mosley recommends ‘stress-busting' techniques, like exercise, gardening, mindfulness or another activities that you enjoy. But his strongest recommendation is trying to get a good night's sleep. A recent study carried out by researchers at King's College, London found that if you deprived people of sleep, they would consume, on average, an extra 385kcal per day, which is equivalent to the calories in a large muffin. So, try sleeping to decrease stress, and as a result make it easier to keep yourself a little trimmer.
那么我们能做些什么来对抗压力呢？在BBC的一篇文章中，迈克尔·莫斯利博士推荐了“减压”技巧，比如锻炼、园艺、正念或其他你喜欢的活动。但他最强烈的建议是尝试睡个好觉。伦敦大学国王学院的研究人员最近进行的一项研究发现，如果剥夺人们的睡眠，他们平均每天会额外消耗385千卡热量，这相当于一个大松饼的热量。所以，试着通过睡觉来减轻压力，这样更容易让自己保持苗条。

词汇表
sugary snack 含糖的零食
self-control 自控力
compelled 不得不地
a sugar hit 由糖带来的一时的刺激
chronic stress 慢性压力，长期不断的压力
sleep disruption 睡眠中断
stroke 中风
heart-attack 心脏病发作
ulcer 溃疡
depression 抑郁，忧郁
comfort eat 安慰性饮食
blood sugar 血糖
be subjected to 经历，接受（测试，训练等）
stress-free 无压力的
glucose 葡萄糖
insulin 胰岛素
high-calorie 高热量的
obesity 肥胖
combat stress 克服、对抗压力
stress-busting 减压的
gardening 园艺
mindfulness 正念
trim 苗条而健康的，修长的

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