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Researchers of the study, 'Correlates of Overweight Status in Chinese Youth: an East-West Paradox,' zoned in on China's adolescent population, looking at the relationship between such factors as sleep, diet, exercise and income on obesity among young people.
What they found: Chinese children raised in families with higher incomes and advanced education levels are more likely to become obese.
Findings of the study contrast distinctly with the obese populations of the U.S. and even Europe, where children and adults have waistline sizes that correlate to the degree of their poverty. Overweight American youth tend to be from neighborhoods where fresh produce is less available, from families with lower educational backgrounds and less knowledge of general nutrition.
Chinese boys are also more likely than girls to become overweight, according to the study, whereas in the U.S., boys and girls are equally likely to develop weight problems.
Further differentiating the two cultures of obesity, researchers found that younger children, children who reported having high levels of physical activity, and youth who reported eating lots of vegetables and little fast food or sweets were actually more likely to be obese than the rest of the youth population.
How is it possible that these young vegetable-eaters are getting fat? One explanation, according to the study, is China's rapidly expanding economy. With disposable incomes growing, families can now afford to eat a lot more food and buy certain foods that just years ago were less available and less affordable. So while these children may be eating their veggies, they're packing in an excess of other fatty foods to go with them.
Meat consumption has been on the rise, contributing to obesity, according to a separate 2008 University of North Carolina study on China's changing nutrition habits (pdf). By 2005, meat comprised 27% of the Chinese diet, up from 6% in 1965, according to the most recent figures from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Many Chinese families have also made unhealthy lifestyle changes, such as opting for more deep-fried, stir-fried and junk food, the study said.
Conducted by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, the study surveyed 9,000-plus middle school and high school students from families across income brackets in seven densely populated cities in China.
Excessively plump figures have become increasingly prevalent in China, with around 25% of the country's adult population qualifying as either overweight or obese, according to the University of North Carolina study. Two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight or obese.
In clinical terms, overweight people are those with a body mass index of 25 to 29.9, while anyone with a BMI over 30 is defined as obese.
China's Ministry of Health does not track obesity levels in China.
Obesity is a major risk factor for heart disease and type 2 diabetes. China is now home to the world's largest diabetic population, with 23 million diagnosed, up 40% from 2001, according to London-based research group GfK HealthCare. The U.S. is home to 20 million diabetics.
参考译文：
该研究名为《中国青少年超重状况的相关因素：东西方矛盾》（Correlates of Overweight Status in Chinese Youth: an East-West Paradox）。研究人员将对象锁定在中国的青少年人口，研究了睡眠、饮食、锻炼和收入等因素与年轻人肥胖的关系。
他们发现：高收入和教育水平高的家庭养育的中国孩子更有可能肥胖。
研究结果与美国甚至欧洲的肥胖人口形成鲜明对比，美国和欧洲儿童和成人的腰围尺寸与他们的贫穷程度相关。超重的美国青少年往往来自较难获得新鲜农产品的社区、教育程度较低和普通营养学知识较少的家庭。
据这项研究显示，在中国，男孩肥胖的可能性比女孩大，而在美国，男孩女孩形成体重问题的可能性相当。
进一步区别两种肥胖文化的是，研究人员发现，年龄较小的儿童、体力活动较多的儿童以及食用大量蔬菜、较少快餐或甜食的儿童，事实上比其他青少年更有可能肥胖。
素食儿童怎么会变胖？这项研究给出的一个解释是由于中国快速扩张的经济。随着可支配收入增加，各个家庭现在能够吃得起更多食物，并购买几年前比较少见、买不起的一些食物。因此尽管这些儿童可能在吃蔬菜，但同时也摄入了其他过量的高脂肪食物。
据北卡罗来纳大学（University of North Carolina）2008年对中国营养习惯改变所作的研究显示，肉类消耗量一直在增加，这是肥胖的一个原因。据联合国粮食和农业组织（Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations）最新数据显示，2005年，肉类在中国人饮食中的比重为27%，较1965年的6%大幅上升。
该研究说，许多中国家庭还做出了不健康的生活方式改变，比如更多的选择油炸的、煎炒的和垃圾食品。
该研究是由南加州大学（University of Southern California）凯克医学院（Keck School of Medicine）研究员进行的，调查对象是9,000多名初高中学生，他们来自中国七个人口密集的城市中收入水平各异的家庭。
根据北卡罗来纳大学的这项研究，过度肥胖的身材在中国已经越来越普遍，中国约25%的成年人不是超重就是肥胖。在美国这个比例为三分之二。
在临床学中，身体质量指数为25到29.9就是超重，而身体质量指数超过30的就是肥胖。
中国卫生部并未追踪中国的肥胖程度状况。
肥胖是心脏病和2型糖尿病的主要风险因素。据伦敦研究机构GfK HealthCare称，中国目前是世界糖尿病人口最多的国家，2,300万人被确诊为患有糖尿病，比2001年多出40%。美国有2,000万糖尿病人口。
