Question

Parents must focus on a healthy balanced lifestyle for their children instead of focusing on weight or dieting in order to prevent obesity(肥胖)and eating disorder among teenagers, say new guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics. The guidelines were developed in response to growing concern about teenagers’ use of unhealthy methods to lose weight.

Quick weight loss methods can cause medical consequences such as unstable heart rate. Also, teenagers who diet in ninth grade are three times more likely than their peers(同齡人)to be over-weight in 12th grade, the researchers said. “Scientific evidence increasingly shows that for teenagers, dieting is bad news,” said lead author Neville Golden, Professor at the Stanford University.

Parents should not encourage dieting, and should avoid “weight talk” such as commenting on their own weight or their children’s weight. Instead parents should help their children develop a healthy body image by encouraging them to eat a balanced diet and exercise for fitness, not weight loss, the researchers states. Further, they should also never tease teenagers about their weight. Negative comments about weight can also be detrimental to a teenager’s health.

“Mothers who talk about their own bodies and weights can encourage their kids to have body dissatisfaction, which we see in half of teenage girls and a quarter of boys,” Golden noted. Such dissatisfaction is associated with lower levels of physical activities and with use of laxatives(瀉藥)to control weight.

Families should eat regular meals together, the researchers suggested, adding that eating family meals is likely to prevent weight problems, said the paper published online in the journal Pediatrics. Eating too fast, eating when not hungry, always eating dessert, eating out often are not advisable when you watch your weight.

1.What is likely to happened to teenagers if they go on a diet in ninth grade?

A. Their studies will suffer a lot

B. They’ll probably have unstable heart rate

C. They’re more likely to be overweight in 12th grade

D. They’ll probably have eating disorder problems

2.What should parents do to prevent teenager obesity?

A. Urge teenagers to go on a strict diet

B. Comment on their own weight when eating

C. Express their dissatisfaction about their bodies

D. Encourage teenagers to eat healthily and exercise properly

3.What does the underlined word “detrimental” in the third paragraph probably mean?

A. Strange B. Harmful

C. Necessary D. Deadly

4.Which is considered helpful to prevent overweight?

A. Eating family meals more often

B. Eating only when hungry

C. Dinning out often

D. Eating too slow

Answer 1