Question

It’s no secret that reading is helpful. But can it help kids lose weight In the first study to look at the influence of literature on overweight teenagers, researchers at Duke Children’s Hospital discovered that reading the right type of novel may make a difference.

The Duke researchers asked overweight girls aged 9 to 13 who were already in a weight loss program to read a novel called Lake Rescue. It was carefully created with the help of pediatric experts (兒科專家) to include specific healthy lifestyle and weight management guidance, as well as positive messages and strong role models.

Six months later, the Duke researchers found the 31 girls who read Lake Rescue experienced a significant decrease (fall) in their BMI scores (-.71%) when compared to a control group of 14 girls who hadn’t (+.05%), explained Alexandra C. Russell, a fourth-year medical student at Duke who led the study.

“As a pediatrician, I can’t count the number of times I tell parents to buy a book that might provide useful advice, yet I’ve never been able to point to research to back up my recommendations,” says Sarah Armstrong, director of Duke’s Healthy Lifestyles Program where the research took place. “This is the first probable interventional (介入的) study that found literature can have a positive influence on healthy lifestyle changes in young girls.”

Obesity(肥胖） is becoming more widespread in children, according to the CDC (Centres for Disease Control), which reports that 16 percent of children aged 6 to 19 are overweight or obese, a number that has increased since 1980. Researchers are looking at a lot of ways to help kids stay healthy, lose weight and be more active, but Armstrong says, “most don’t work very well. The weight loss choices that are effective typically involve taking powerful medications with side effects, or require long-lasting surgical procedures.”

While the BMI decrease because of the book is small, Armstrong says any decrease in BMI is encouraging because BMI typically increases in children as they grow and develop. That’s okay as long as it follows a normal, progressing curve(曲線）. In overweight kids, however, BMI usually increases more quickly. “If their BMI percentile (百分位) goes down, it means they are either losing weight or getting tall and not gaining weight. Both are seen as positive signs in kids who are trying to lose weight,” she explains.

1.What did researchers at Duke Children’s Hospital do?

A. They tried to find out the reasons why kids are overweight.

B. They focused on the research into girls’ healthy lifestyle.

C. They studied whether literature could help lose weight.

D. They helped the girls to choose right books to read.

2.The underlined phrase “back up my recommendations” probably means “_____”.

A. influence my research B. change my opinion C. respect my study D. support my advice

3.Which of the following statements about the research is TRUE?

A. The researchers interviewed the girls and studied information.

B. Pediatric experts offered specific guidance to the research.

C. 16 percent of children aged from 9 to 13 were overweight.

D. The girls read a certain novel and gave their reports.

4.What’s the finding of the research?

A. That the girls all grew tall and lost weight after 6 months.

B. That the girls showed great interest in reading literature works.

C. That the girls who read Lake Rescue had a decrease in BMI.

D. That the girls needed to take powerful medications to lose weight.

Answer 1