Question

Astonishingly, 26 million Britons will be obese by 2030, placing a huge pressure on health services, according to studies published on Friday highlighting the growing global obesity problem. Based on present trends, obesity rates in Britain will rise from 26 percent to 41-48 percent in men, and from 26 percent to 35-43 percent in women over the next two decades. By 2030, as many as 11 million more British adults will be obese and 3.3 million of them will be aged over 60.

The resulting cost burden on health services could be as much as ￡2 billion per year, according to the research published in The Lancet medical journal.

In the U.S. the prediction is even worse, with 50-51 percent of American men and 45-52 percent of American women expected to be obese by 2030, adding as many as 65 million to the country’s population of obese adults.

The study, led by Claire Wang of Columbia University in New York and Klim McPherson of Oxford University, says that medical costs will surge, given obesity’s links with diabetes, cancer, heart disease and strokes.

“The combined medical costs associated with treatment for these preventable diseases are estimated to increase by $48-66 billion per year in the U.S. and by ￡1.9-2 billion per year in the U.K. by 2030,” it says.

McPherson said politicians are shying away from settling the problem for fear of being criticized. “I think they do ‘get’ it but they don’t know what to do with it, and they don’t think it’s their responsibility,” he said.

Today, around 1.5 billion adults are overweight and a further 0.5 billion obese, with 170 million children classified as overweight or obese. Dealing with obesity takes up between two and six percent of health care costs in many countries.

In the study, the researchers traced the problem to the 1970s and 80s, and related it to a rise in food consumption and a more sedentary(案头的) lifestyle.

1.What can be learned from Paragraph 1?

A. 26 million Britons are suffering from obesity nowadays.

B. Obesity rates in British women and men are the same nowadays.

C. By 2030, about eleven million adults will be obese in Britain.

D. Most obese people will be aged over 60 by 2030.

2.The underlined word “surge” in Paragraph 4 probably means “________”.

A. increase quickly B. appear suddenly

C. refuse bravely D. develop independently

3.In McPherson’s opinion, politicians ________.

A. are most likely to be obese

B. have nothing to do with the obesity problem

C. should make more efforts to solve the obesity problem

D. have more detailed information about the obesity

4.In which part of a newspaper are we most likely to read the passage?

A. Health. B. Science. C. Education. D. Politics.

Answer 1