America continues to get fatter, according to a new report on the nation’s w

游客2023-09-01  38

问题     America continues to get fatter, according to a new report on the nation’s weight crisis. Statistics for 2008-2010 show that 16 states are experiencing steep increases in adult obesity, and none has seen a notable downturn in the last four years.
    Even Coloradans, long the nation’s slimmest citizens, are gaining excess pounds. With an obese population of 19.8%, it is the only state with an adult obesity rate below 20%. But in just the last four years, the ranks of the obese even in Colorado have grown 0.7%.
    Getting out of the problem will not be simple, said Jeffrey Levi, executive director of the Trust for America’s Health. The report emphasized the need for a range of measures, including boosting physical activity in schools, encouraging adults to get out and exercise, broadening access to affordable healthy foods and using "pricing strategies" to encourage Americans to make better food choices.
    "Until the government takes on the food industry, we’ll continue to see the appalling numbers in this report," said Kelly Brownell, director of Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. "Government could’ start by changing agricultural subsidies, by not making it financially attractive for companies to market unhealthy foods, by placing serious restrictions on marketing to children, and with financial policies that make healthy foods cost less and unhealthy foods cost more."
    About 30 years after the United States started seeing a steep rise in the weight of children and adults, the illnesses most closely linked to obesity have begun a dramatic upturn. Diabetes (糖尿病) rates in 12 states have jumped significantly, now affecting as many as 12.2% of adults in Alabama—the state with the highest obesity rates.
    Obesity remains a condition disproportionately affecting those with poor education and low income, and closely tied to minority status. Among African American adults, obesity topped 40% in 15 states. Among Latinos, it topped 30% in 23 states.
    In contrast, among white adults, obesity rates were higher than 30% in only four states, and in no state topped 32.1%.
    Nearly a third of high school dropouts are obese, compared with 21.5% of those who graduated from college or technical school.
    For children, the picture from the report is slightly better, said Dr. Francine Kaufman, an obesity specialist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. "Children are for the most part holding steady," she said.
    Kaufman added that the report’s clear message—that obesity takes its greatest toll in low-income and minority communities—underscores that "assistance programs are definitely required" to help those populations. [br] To curb the increasing obesity rate, the government should first of all adjust its______

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答案 agricultural subsidies

解析 根据第4段第2句:Government could start by changing agricultural subsidies…。空格前的adjust对应原文change的语义,故答案为其后的宾语agricultural subsidies。
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