众所周知，肥胖对健康不利。科学家告诉我们，体重增加会引发各种健康问题：高胆固醇、胰岛素抵抗、糖尿病和心脏病风险增加。对此，美国得克萨斯大学西南医学中心（University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center）的研究人员有不同看法，他们在《内分泌学与新陈代谢趋势》（Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism）期刊上发表的一篇论文中提出，变胖实际上可以保护我们免受这些疾病的侵害。
论文作者、内科医学教授罗杰·昂格尔（Roger H. Unger）和菲利普·谢勒（Philipp E. Scherer）认为，现代人的确吃得太多了，尤其是那些富含碳水化合物和脂肪的高热量食物。历史上，这种放纵和营养过剩通常是王室成员的特权。但现在，研究人员指出，“垃圾食品如此廉价，以至于任何人都能负担得起让自己变胖。”他们表示，变胖是身体将脂肪储存在它们应该在的地方，也就是脂肪组织中的方式，这种代谢“封存”实际上保护了其他器官免受脂肪的有害影响。
当那些“心宽体胖”的人继续摄入过多卡路里时，麻烦就来了。这时，脂肪会……[查看全文]
Does Getting Fat Protect against Fat?
Everyone knows that obesity is bad for your health. Packing on the pounds, we’re told, leads to all sorts of medical problems: high cholesterol, insulin resistance, greater risk of diabetes and heart disease. But researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center see things a little differently. In a paper in the journal Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism, they argue that being fat can actually protect us from these disorders.
The scientists [Robert Unger and Philipp Scherer] don’t deny that we eat too much, especially high-calorie foods chock full of carbs and fats. In the past, that sort of overindulgence, and over-nutrition, used to be reserved for royalty. But now, the scientists note, “bad calories are so cheap that anyone can afford to get overweight.” But obesity, they say, is the body’s way of storing fats where they belong: in fat tissue. That metabolic sequestration actually protects other organs from the harmful effects of fat.
The trouble comes when people who are larger-than-life continue to consume excess calories. That’s when the fat...[full transcript]
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