Gluttony
The Hows and Whys of Gluttony
The dictionary says that a glutton is a person who eats too much. If so, the United States is a nation of gluttons. Almost 65 percent of the population is now overweight. About 31 percent, or 59 million people, are obese - that is, they weigh more than 20 percent than they should. Experts say that within five years, four out of ten Am ericans will be in this group. In 1989, 47 percent of Americans were overweight and 15 percent were obese.
We now know that gluttony is not just self-indulgent. Being overweight can cause serious health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. So, why are so many of us eating ourselves to death?
Experts in obesity research say there are a number of reasons. First, food is cheaper than it was in the past. They say that it is natural to eat when we can. Second, we lead very sedentary lives-we rarely move. Most of us have desk jobs. We don't walk to shops, schools, or banks-we drive cars. Furthermore, at home we have a lot of machines to help us. We don't push lawn mowers-we ride on them. We don't rake leaves-we blow them away with leaf blowers. We don't wash dishes anymore-the dishwasher does. In addition, robot vacuum cleaners clean our floors. And, of course, the television remote control means that we can sit in a chair for hours. We usually call these machines labor-saving devices. Maybe if we called them fat-development devices, people would stop using them.
A. Read the statements and write true (T) or false (F).
1. Obese people are only a little overweight.
2. A glutton eats too much.
3. Being overweight causes hearing problems.
4. Food is less expensive than it was before.
5. Sedentary people are very active.
6. We eat more because there is more food.
B. Answer the questions.
1. What are the two main reasons why so many people are overweight?
2. Wnat kinds of problems does obesity cause?
3. Name some labor-saving devices.
A: 1)f
ОтветитьУдалить2)t
3)f
4)t
5)f
6)f
B: 1) First, food is cheaper than it was in the past. Second, we lead very sedentary lives-we rarely move.
2) Being overweight can cause serious health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
3)Lawn mowers, leaf blowers, the dishwasher, robot vacuum cleaners, the television remote control
1) f; They weigh more than 20 percent than they should.
Удалить2)t; The dictionary says that a glutton is a person who eats too much.
3)f; Being overweight can cause serious health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
4)t; food is cheaper than it was in the past. They say that it is natural to eat when we can.
5)f; we lead very sedentary lives-we rarely move. Most of us have desk jobs. We don't walk to shops, schools, or banks-we drive cars
6)f; We eat more because at home we have a lot of machines to help us and food is cheaper than it was in the past. They say that it is natural to eat when we can.