2018.7.23纽约时报：年龄如何影响食欲 详解人生七阶段

How your age affects your appetite

年龄如何影响食欲 详解人生七阶段

Do you eat to live or live to eat? We have a complicated relationship with food, influenced by cost, availability and even peer pressure. But something we all share is appetite – our desire to eat.

对你而言，吃是为了活着，还是活着是为了吃？我们和食物之间有一种复杂的关系，这种关系受到食物价格、是否能够获取，以及同辈压力的影响。但有一样东西是我们大家共同拥有的。这就是食欲——我们对吃的欲望。

While hunger – our body’s way of making us desire food when it needs feeding – is a part of appetite, it is not the only factor. After all, we often eat when we’re not hungry, or may skip a meal despite pangs of hunger. Recent research has highlighted that the abundance of food cues – smells, sounds, advertising – in our environment is one of the main causes of overconsumption.

虽然饥饿——我们的身体需要进食时通过这种方式让我们渴望食物——是食欲的一部分，但并不是唯一的因素。毕竟，我们经常在不饿的时候吃东西，或者在饥肠辘辘的时候不吃饭。最近的研究强调，我们环境中丰富的食物诱因——气味、声音、广告——是导致饮食过度的主要原因之一。

Our appetite is also not fixed, it changes across our lifespan as we age. As Shakespeare might have put it, there are seven ages of appetite, and a better understanding of these phases could help us to develop new ways of tackling under-eating and overconsumption, along with the health effects, such as obesity, that follow.

我们的食欲也不是一成不变的，随着年龄的增长，食欲会在我们的一生中发生变化。或许如莎士比亚(Shakespeare)所说的人生有七个阶段（莎士比亚喜剧《皆大欢喜》中的一段独白），食欲也有七个年龄段，认真理解食欲七个阶段，可以帮助我们找到解决饮食不足、饮食过度以及随之而来的肥胖症等健康问题的新方法。

The first decade, 0-10

第一个十年，0-10岁

In early childhood, the body goes through rapid growth and dietary behaviour built up in early life can extend into adulthood, leading a fat child to become a fat adult.

在儿童早期，身体生长发育很快，他们童年形成的饮食行为会一直延续到成年，因此肥胖的孩子很有可能会成长为肥胖的成年人。

Fussiness or fear of particular foods can also contribute to meal time struggles for parents of young children, but a strategy of repeated tasting and learning in a positive environment can help children learn about unfamiliar but important foods, such as vegetables.

年幼孩子对特定食物的挑剔或恐惧，会使家长们在孩子用餐时伤透脑筋，但如果积极面对，采用让孩子反复品尝和学习的方法，会有助于孩子认识接受陌生但重要的食物，比如蔬菜。

Children should also experience some control, particularly in relation to portion size. Being forced to “clear the plate” by parents can lead youngsters to lose their ability to follow their own appetite and hunger cues, promoting overeating in later years. There are growing calls for governments to protect young children from targeted junk food advertising – not just on television but in apps, social media and video blogs – since food advertising increases food consumption, which can contribute to children becoming overweight.

儿童也应该学会自我控制，特别是关于食物份量方面。父母强迫孩子"清空盘子"会导致孩子们失去追随自己食欲和饥饿信号的能力，从而导致日后的暴饮暴食。越来越多的人呼吁政府保护儿童不受有针对性的垃圾食品广告的影响——不仅是在电视上，还包括在应用程序、社交媒体和视频博客上——因为食品广告会增加食物消费，这会导致儿童体重超重。

The second decade, 10-20

第二个十年，10-20岁

In the teenage years, a growth in appetite and stature driven by hormones, signals the arrival of puberty. How a teenager approaches food during this critical period will shape their lifestyle choices in later years.

在青少年时期，由荷尔蒙推动的食欲和身高的增长预示着青春期的到来。在这段发育关键时期，一个十几岁的孩子如何接近食物将决定他们晚年生活方式的选择。

This means the dietary decisions that adolescents make are intrinsically linked to the health of the future generations that they will later become parents to. Unfortunately, without guidance, teenagers may adopt eating behaviours and food preferences associated with unhealthy consequences.

这意味着青少年所做的饮食决定与他们后代的健康有着内在的联系，因为他们将来也会做人父母。不幸的是，如果缺乏指导，青少年可能会接受不健康的饮食行为和饮食偏好。

Young women in general are more likely to suffer from nutritional deficiencies than young men because of their reproductive biology. Teenage girls who become pregnant are also at greater risk since their bodies are supporting their own growth in competition with that of the growing foetus.

一般来说，由于生殖生物学因素，年轻女性比年轻男性更容易患营养素缺乏症，即通俗所说的营养不良。怀孕少女的风险会更大，因为她们的身体要支持自己与胎儿两个人的生长，而两种生长都需要摄取营养。

The third decade, 20-30

第三个十年，20-30岁

As young adults, lifestyle changes such as going to college, getting married or living with a partner, and parenthood can promote weight gain.

此时进入成年阶段，生活方式大为改变，上大学、结婚或与伴侣一起生活，以及生儿育女为人父母，生活的压力会使得我们的体重增加。

Once accumulated, body fat is often difficult to lose. The body sends strong appetite signals to eat when we consume less than our energy needs, but the signals to prevent overeating are weaker, which can lead to a circle of over-consumption. There are many physiological and psychological factors that make eating less difficult to maintain over time.

脂肪一旦累积就很难减掉。当我们吃的少于我们的能量需求时，身体会发出强烈的食欲信号，但不幸的是，我们身体防止暴饮暴食的信号则很微弱，结果会导致一个过度饮食的循环。随着岁月流逝，许多生理和心理因素使我们要减少食量变得难以维持。

An area of new research is to develop satiety, the sense of having eaten enough. This is helpful when trying to lose weight, since feeling hungry is one of the main barriers to eating less than your body says you need.

新研究的一个领域是开发饱腹感，即吃饱了的感觉。这对减肥很有帮助，因为感觉饥饿是身体发出需要进食的信号，因此也是让你少吃的主要障碍之一。

Different foods send different signals to the brain. It’s easy to eat a tub of ice cream, for example, because fat doesn’t trigger signals in the brain for us to stop eating. On the other hand, foods high in protein, water or fibre content make us feel fuller for longer. Working with the food industry provides an opportunity to shape the future of meals and snacks in beneficial ways.

不同的食物向大脑发出不同的信号。例如，吃一桶冰淇淋很容易，因为脂肪不会触发大脑要我们停止进食的信号。另一方面，富含蛋白质、水或纤维的食物却会给我们较长时间的饱腹感。我们应该与食品行业共同努力，让我们未来可享受有益于身体健康的正餐和零食。

The fourth decade, 30-40

第四个十年，30-40岁

Adult working life brings other challenges beyond a rumbling stomach, but also the effects of stress, which has been shown to prompt changes in appetite and eating habits in 80% of the population, equally divided between those that gorge and those that lose their appetite.

成年人的工作生活带来的挑战不仅仅是肚子咕咕作响，还有压力带来的影响，这导致80%的人食欲和饮食习惯发生改变，结果是一半人暴饮暴食，另一半人则没有胃口。

These different coping strategies are intriguing: the phenomena of “food addiction” – an irresistible urge to consume specific, often high-calorie foods – is not well understood. Many researchers even question its existence.

人类对待食物的不同方式很有趣，如"食物成瘾（food addiction）"现象，即有无法抗拒的欲望想吃某种特定的、通常是高热量的食物，对此至今科学界还不能完全理解。许多研究人员甚至质疑有食物成瘾现象的存在。

Other personality traits, such as perfectionism and conscientiousness, may also play a role in mediating stress and eating behaviour.

其他人格特征，如完美主义和责任心，也可能在人们调节压力和饮食习惯中发挥作用。

Structuring the work environment to reduce problematic eating patterns such as snacking or vending machines is a challenge. Employers should strive to subsidise and promote healthier eating for a productive and healthy workforce, along with ways of managing stress and stressful situations.

改善工作环境，减少诸如零食或自动售货机等问题饮食设施是一个挑战。要有一支生产力高而且身心健康的工作团队，雇主应该尽力资助并促进健康的饮食，同时也要设法管理压力和应激情境（stressful situations）。

The fifth decade, 40-50

第五个十年，40-50岁

The word diet comes from the Greek word diaita meaning “way of life, mode of living”, but we are creatures of habit, often unwilling to change our preferences even when we know it is good for us. We want to eat what we want without changing our lifestyle, and still have a healthy body and mind.

饮食（diet）这个词来源于希腊语diaita，意思是"生活方式、生存之道"，但我们是积习难改的生物，即使知道改变不良喜好对我们有好处，我们仍然不愿意稍作改变。我们希望不用改变生活方式，吃我们喜欢的东西，还能够保有健康的身心。

There is much evidence to show that diet is a major contributing factor to ill-health. The World Health Organisation highlights smoking, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and problem drinking as the main lifestyle impacts on health and mortality.

有很多证据表明，饮食是导致身体不健康的一个主要因素。世界卫生组织（World Health Organisation）强调，吸烟、不健康饮食、缺乏运动和酗酒是影响健康和死亡率的主要生活方式。

It is between the ages of 40-50 that adults should change their behaviour as their health dictates, but symptoms of illness are often invisible – for example high blood pressure or cholesterol – and so many fail to act.

在40-50岁之间，成年人应该根据自己的健康状况改变自己的行为，但疾病的症状往往是看不见的——比如高血压或高胆固醇——因此很多人没有采取行动。

The sixth decade, 50-60

第六个十年，50-60岁

After the age of 50, we begin to suffer a gradual loss of muscle mass, at between 0.5-1% per year. This is called sarcopenia, and lessened physical activity, consuming too little protein, and menopause in women will accelerate the decline in muscle mass.

50岁以后，我们的肌肉质量开始逐渐流失，每年减少0.5-1个百分点。这被称为肌肉减少症（sarcopenia）。身体活动减少，摄入蛋白质过少以及女性的更年期都会加速肌肉质量的下降。

A healthy, varied diet and physical activity are important to reduce the effects of ageing, and an ageing population’s need for palatable, cost-effective, higher-protein foods is not being met.

健康、多样化的饮食和运动对于减少衰老的影响很重要，而老龄化人口对美味、划算、高蛋白食品的需求尚未得到满足。

Protein‐rich snack foods might represent an ideal opportunity to increase total protein intake in older adults, but there are currently few products designed to meet the requirements and preferences of older adults.

富含蛋白质的零食可能是老年人增加总蛋白质摄入量的理想选择，但目前很少有产品的设计能满足老年人的需求和偏好。

The seventh decade, 60-70, and beyond

第七个十年，60-70岁及以后

A major challenge today in the face of increasing life expectancy is to maintain quality of life, or else we will become a society of very old and infirm or disabled people.

今天人类的平均寿命增长很快，一项重大挑战是维持老年人口的生活质量，否则我们将成为一个年老体弱的老龄人社会。

Adequate nutrition is important, as old age brings poor appetite and lack of hunger, which leads to unintentional weight loss and greater frailty. Reduced appetite can also result from illness, for example the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.

充足的营养是很重要的，因为年老会带来食欲不振和饥饿感缺乏，导致无意的体重减轻，身体更加虚弱。食欲减退也可能是由疾病引起，例如阿尔茨海默症（Alzheimer's disease）的影响。

Food is a social experience, but the loss of a partner or family and eating alone affect the sense of pleasure taken from eating. Other affects of old age, such as swallowing problems, dental issues, reduced taste and smell also interfere with the desire to eat and our rewards from doing so.

饮食是一种社会经验，但是失去伴侣或家人，独自吃东西会影响人们从饮食中获得的愉悦感。老年的其他影响，如吞咽问题、牙齿问题、味觉和嗅觉的减少也会影响食欲和我们从饮食中得到的奖赏。

We should remember that throughout life our food is not just fuel, but a social and cultural experience to be enjoyed. We are all experts in food – we eat it every day.

我们应该记住，在我们的一生中，食物不仅仅为身体提供能量，而且是一种应被享受的社会和文化体验。我们都是食品专家——因为我们每天都在进食。

So we should strive to treat every opportunity to eat as an opportunity to enjoy our food and to enjoy the positive effects eating the right foods can have on our health.

因此，我们应该努力把每一个吃东西的时刻都当作享受美食的机会，并享受吃对食物所获得的良好养生效果。