VOA慢速：间歇性禁食
New Diet Trend in America: Intermittent Fasting
燕山大学 刘立军 编写
【TRANSCRIPT】
The latest diet trend in America is also an ancient human activity. The activity is fasting, or not eating food for a set amount of time.
Social media apps and Facebook groups are appearing for people who do "intermittent fasting," or fasting on a part-time basis.
Different approaches
Like other diets, intermittent fasting helps you lose weight by setting limits on eating. But instead of limiting what you eat, it limits when you eat.
One of the more popular approaches to intermittent fasting is called "time-restricted feeding." It is not as difficult as some of the other approaches, since the fasting period can include the time you are sleeping.
The basic idea of time-restricted feeding is to limit eating to an eight-hour period. You then fast during the day's other 16 hours.
Many people make the eating period shorter or longer. Some eat just one meal a day.
In other approaches, people fast several days during a week. On fasting days, some people may permit themselves around 600 calories.
Whatever the approach, people are not supposed to overeat when they stop fasting.
Supporters and critics
Melissa Breaux Bankston is a Crossfit instructor in New Orleans, Louisiana. She tried intermittent fasting as a way to reduce her snacking. "I wanted to limit the amount of time that I was eating," she said.
Studies on the potential health benefits of intermittent fasting are still limited, including for its effectiveness with weight loss.
For now, limited research suggests it may not be any better for weight loss than reducing calorie intake over the long term.
"It's really another way of fooling your body into eating less calories," said Krista Varady, who studies intermittent fasting at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Courtney Peterson, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, also studies intermittent fasting. She suggested the benefits of intermittent fasting are not as great as some might suggest. "Unfortunately, intermittent fasting gets a little hyped," she said.
Is intermittent fasting right for you?
Some health experts say intermittent fasting might be too difficult for many people. They point to a study of 100 people where those placed in a fasting group lost about the same amount of weight as those on diets that restricted calories. The fasting group had a dropout rate of 38 percent, compared with 29 percent for the caloric-restriction diet group.
But intermittent fasting may be easier for people who already skip meals when they are too busy, said Varady.
People interested in intermittent fasting should talk to their doctor before trying it. Health experts do not recommend intermittent fasting for children, people on some medications and people with a history of eating disorders.
I'm John Russell.
【VOCABULARY】
1. fast n. a period during which you do not eat food, especially for religious or health reasons 禁食期；斋戒期。例如：to go on a fast 开始禁食
2. intermittent adj. stopping and starting often over a period of time, but not regularly 断断续续的；间歇的。例如：intermittent bursts of applause 一阵阵的掌声
3. snack n. (informal) a small meal or amount of food, usually eaten in a hurry 点心；小吃；快餐。 例如：I only have time for a snack at lunchtime. 中午，我的时间只够吃点心。
4. hype v. (动词 + 名词短语) hype sth (up) (informal, disapproving) to advertise sth a lot and exaggerate its good qualities, in order to get a lot of public attention for it 夸张地宣传（某事物）。例如：The meeting was hyped up in the media as an important event. 这次会议被媒体吹成一件大事。
5. medication n. (不可数名词，可数名词) a drug or another form of medicine that you take to prevent or to treat an illness 药；药物。例如：Many flu medications are available without a prescription. 许多流感药不用处方就可以买到。
【QUESTIONS】
TASK I
Listen to the news and choose the best answer to each question you hear.
(Q1) How can intermittent fasting help you lose weight?
(A) By limiting the times you eat.
(B) By limiting what you eat.
(C) By limiting how you eat.
(D) By limiting when you eat.
(Q2) What’s the basic idea of time-restricted feeding?
(A) To limit eating to an eight-hour period.
(B) To limit eating to a twelve-hour period.
(C) To limit eating to a sixteen-hour period.
(D) To limit eating to a four-hour period.
TASK II
Read the statements. Then listen to the news and check the true (T) or false (F) statements.
1. People are supposed to overeat when they stop fasting.
2. Studies on the potential health benefits of intermittent fasting are still limited.
3. Limited research suggests intermittent fasting may be better for weight loss than reducing calorie intake over the long term.
4. Courtney Peterson suggested the benefits of intermittent fasting are not as great as some might suggest.
5. Some health experts say intermittent fasting might be too difficult for many people.
6. According to Varady, intermittent fasting may be easier for people who already skip breakfast when they are too busy.
7. People interested in intermittent fasting should talk to their doctor before trying it.
8. Health experts recommend intermittent fasting for people with a history of eating disorders.
【KEY】
TASK I
(Q1) D。细节题。命题出处：Like other diets, intermittent fasting helps you lose weight by setting limits on eating. But instead of limiting what you eat, it limits when you eat.
(Q2) A。细节题。命题出处：The basic idea of time-restricted feeding is to limit eating to an eight-hour period. You then fast during the day's other 16 hours.
TASK II
Read the statements. Then listen to the news and check the true (T) or false (F) statements.
(F) 1. People are supposed to overeat when they stop fasting. (正确表达) People are not supposed to overeat when they stop fasting.
(T) 2. Studies on the potential health benefits of intermittent fasting are still limited.
(F) 3. Limited research suggests intermittent fasting may be better for weight loss than reducing calorie intake over the long term. (正确表达) Limited research suggests intermittent fasting may not be any better for weight loss than reducing calorie intake over the long term.
(T) 4. Courtney Peterson suggested the benefits of intermittent fasting are not as great as some might suggest.
(T) 5. Some health experts say intermittent fasting might be too difficult for many people.
(F) 6. According to Varady, intermittent fasting may be easier for people who already skip breakfast when they are too busy. (正确表达) According to Varady, intermittent fasting may be easier for people who already skip meals when they are too busy.
(T) 7. People interested in intermittent fasting should talk to their doctor before trying it.
(F) 8. Health experts recommend intermittent fasting for people with a history of eating disorders. (正确表达) Health experts do not recommend intermittent fasting for people with a history of eating disorders.