Santa Claus

　　Father Christmas is at risk of serious illness because of his bulging waistline and needs to cut down on the mince pies, doctors warned.

　　A survey of shopping centre Santas in Scotland revealed an average waist size of 47 inches - seven inches more than is considered safe.

　　Dr Miles Fisher, consultant physician at Glasgow Royal Infirmary said: "The image of Santa is of a round, jolly person but if you have obesity around your tummy, then it is very bad for you.

　　"Before, we thought it was just not good to be overweight but now we know that having fat around your middle is particularly bad.

　　"That fat produces hormones, which have been associated with heart disease and other conditions."

　　According to health guidelines, having a waist circumference of more than 40 inches for men or 35 inches for women is a key indicator of abdominal obesity.

　　It is associated with a greater risk of heart disease or type 2 diabetes. And people who have rounder stomachs, known as "central obesity", are more at risk than people who are merely overweight.

　　Perhaps Santa should consider cutting back on the sherry as well.

　　蘇格蘭近日對各大購物中心的圣誕老人所做的一項調查表明，圣誕老人的平均腰圍為47英寸，比正常標準多出7英寸。

　　格拉斯哥皇家醫(yī)院的顧問醫(yī)師邁爾斯·費希爾博士說：“圣誕老人應該是那種圓乎乎的、快樂喜慶的形象。但如果圣誕老人有了‘大肚腩’，可就不好了。”

　　“過去我們一直認為體重超標有害健康，但現(xiàn)在我們發(fā)現(xiàn)肚子上脂肪過多對健康更為不利。”

　　“脂肪中會產生一些引發(fā)心臟病和其他疾病的激素。”

　　根據(jù)健康指南，男性的腰圍若超過40英寸、女性腰圍超過35英寸，就可以被認定為是腹型肥胖。

　　腹型肥胖極有可能會引發(fā)心臟病和2型糖尿病。被稱為“中央肥胖”的“大肚腩”者比單純的體重超標者患病的幾率更大。

　　這樣看來，圣誕老人可能還得考慮一下少喝雪利酒。

　　Vocabulary:

　　bulge : to curve outward(突出;膨脹)

　　waistline : the measurement of waist(腰圍)

　　abdominal : 腹部的