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第一篇： Deborah Cohen is a senior natural scientist at the Rand Corp. and the author of the forthcoming book “A Big Fat Crisis: The Hidden Forces Behind the Obesity Epidemic and How We Can End It.” The obesity epidemic is among the most critical health issues facing the United States. Although it has generated a lot of attention and calls for solutions, it also has served up a super-sized portion of myths and misunderstandings. 1.If you’re obese, blame your genes. As obesity rates have soared, some researchers have focused on individuals’ genetic predisposition for gaining weight. Yet, between 1980 and 2000, the number of Americans who are obese has doubled — too quickly for genetic factors to be responsible. So why do we eat more than we need? The simple answer: Because we can. At home and at restaurants, a dollar puts more calories on our plates than ever before. Before World War II, the average family spent as much as 25 percent of its total income on food — in 2011, it was 9.8 percent. And people eat out now more than in the past. In 1966, the average family spent 31 percent of its food budget dining away from home — in 2011, it was 49 percent. Because restaurant meals usually have more calories than what we prepare at home, people who eat out more frequently have higher rates of obesity than those who eat out less. Meanwhile, the food industry has developed tens of thousands of products with more calories per bite, as well as new, effective marketing strategies to encourage us to buy and consume more than necessary. We should blame these business practices, which are modifiable, for obesity rather than our genes, which are not. 第一篇参考译文： 黛博拉?科恩是美国兰德公司一位高级自然科学家，她所著书籍《肥胖危机：肥胖背后隐藏的原因及如何摆脱肥胖》即将出版问世。 肥胖症是美国人面临的最严峻的健康问题之一。尽管它已经引起了广泛关注和对治疗办法的诉求，人们对于肥胖症的理解仍然有超大比例的谬见和误解： 1.肥胖症来自于基因 随着肥胖症比率的飙升，一些研究者开始关注个人基因素质对体重增加的影响。然而，从1980年到2000年，美国肥胖症患者数增加了一倍——基因影响无法导致如此快的增长速度。 那为什么我们会摄入超出需求量的食物？答案很简单，因为我们的经济条件允许。在家或者在餐厅，1美元较之以前能将更多的卡路里放入餐盘。二战前，平均每个家庭在食物上花费总收入的25%——而在2011年，只有9.8%。人们现在也比以