January is often the time when people make New Year’s resolutions – things they want to start, or stop, doing in the new year. Have you made any resolutions for 2021, Georgina?
Well, for a start, Neil, I’m definitely going on a diet! Over Christmas I really piled on the pounds with all that chocolate.
好吧，首先，尼尔，我肯定要节食！在圣诞节期间，我真的用所有的巧克力堆积了磅。
Neil(尼尔)
Yes! not to mention Christmas pudding! I’d already put on extra weight during lockdown, then even more over Christmas, so I definitely need to diet in 2021.
What are you saying, Georgina? Do you think we’re worried people will call us fat?
你在说什么，乔治娜？你认为我们担心人们会说我们胖吗？
Georgina(乔治娜)
It wouldn’t be so surprising, Neil. After all incidents of fat-shaming are on the rise – that’s what it’s called when someone is criticised or humiliated for being fat.
In this programme we’ll be asking where the attitudes behind fat-shaming come from. We’ll be hearing how anti-fat attitudes are often implicit or unconscious.
在这个节目中，我们将询问脂肪羞辱背后的态度来自哪里。我们将听到反脂肪的态度往往是隐含的或无意识的。
Georgina(乔治娜)
Hang on though, Neil. Having a second slice of Christmas cake is hardly the same as being fat, much less obese.
等一下，尼尔。吃第二片圣诞蛋糕几乎等同于肥胖，更不用说肥胖了。
Neil(尼尔)
That’s true, Georgina. The word obese describes a person who's very overweight, with a lot of body fat. It’s the term for a medical condition, measured using BMI or the body mass index. It’s on the rise in the UK. In fact, that’s my quiz question – how many adults in the UK are affected by obesity? Is it: a) 1 in every 3 adults?; b) 1 in every 4 adults? or, c) 1 in every 5 adults?
Ok, we’ll find out the answer later. As you say, Georgina, the word obese has a very specific meaning. Here’s Professor Abigail Saguy talking about the term to BBC World Service’s The Why Factor. Listen out for when the word, obesity, started to be used:
The term obesity was coined in the middle of the 20th century as a concerted effort by medical doctors to say: this is a medical issue, one over which we have authority and expertise.
Professor Saguy says the term obese was coined in the mid-1900s, meaning it was invented or first used in a particular way.
萨吉教授说，肥胖一词是在 1900 年代中期创造的，这意味着它是以特定方式发明或首次使用的。
Neil(尼尔)
It originally meant an individual medical problem; something to be discussed between patient and doctor. But over time obese has become a term of discrimination and abuse.
Psychology professor, Chris Crandall, has been involved in Harvard University’s implicit bias projects. Most famous for revealing racial prejudice, the tests also measure other kinds of biases, including weight.
Many of the beliefs we hold about other people are hidden from conscious awareness. So what goes through our mind, consciously or unconsciously, when we see very fat people? Here’s Professor Crandall speaking to BBC World Service’s The Why Factor:
We tend to think, at least in the western world, of fat people as personal failures, as moral failures… People tend to think of fatness as an indicator of laziness, of over-indulgence, of a lack of moral fibre, an unwillingness to take hold of your own life. We, as everyday Americans and westerners in general, tend to think that it’s a personal attribute, it’s a thing that you do to yourself and as a result you are deserving of scorn.
There is a commonly-held prejudice that fat people are responsible for their condition – because they’re lazy, greedy, or lacking in moral fibre - the ability or determination to behave ethically or with self-control.
In the west especially, being fat or overweight is thought of as a personal attribute – a quality, characteristic or feature that someone has. The idea is that fat people just are the way they are, and have no–one to blame but themselves: they should just exercise more or stop eating…
This leads some to treat them with scorn – a strong feeling of contempt or disrespect.
这导致一些人对他们轻蔑 —— 一种强烈的蔑视或不尊重的感觉。
Neil(尼尔)
In reality of course, weight isn’t just about individual choices. How fat you are is also determined by environment and genetics – up to 80%, in some cases.
And anyway, even if it was under personal control, fat-shaming doesn’t feel like the right way to help people lose weight.
无论如何，即使它是在个人控制之下，脂肪羞辱也不是帮助人们减肥的正确方法。
Neil(尼尔)
So if it doesn’t cause problems, maybe you can have a second slice of cake after all, Georgina.
所以如果它不会引起问题，也许你可以吃第二块蛋糕，乔治娜。
Georgina(乔治娜)
Thanks Neil, but I don’t want to spoil my appetite for the quiz question you asked. Was I right about the number of UK adults affected by obesity?
谢谢尼尔，但我不想破坏我对你问的测验问题的胃口。我对受肥胖影响的英国成年人的数量的看法是对的吗？
Neil(尼尔)
What did you say, Georgina?
你说什么，乔治娜？
Georgina(乔治娜)
I guessed, the answer was b) 1 in every 4 adults.
我猜，答案是 b） 每 4 个成年人中就有 1 个。
Neil(尼尔)
Which was… the correct answer! Fat is an issue affecting millions of adults in the UK alone, and with studies suggesting that obesity might be a negative factor linked to Covid 19, it’s one that could affect millions more.
This term obesity was coined – or invented, to describe a medical condition, although many people nowadays consider it a personal attribute – a quality or characteristic.
Fat-shaming is criticising and humiliating someone for being fat, or showing them scorn – feelings of contempt or disrespect.
肥胖羞辱是批评和羞辱某人的肥胖，或向他们展示蔑视 —— 蔑视或不尊重的感觉。
Neil(尼尔)
Or it could also involve believing they lack moral fibre – the ability to behave correctly or with self-control.
或者，这也可能涉及相信他们缺乏道德纤维 —— 正确行为或自我控制的能力。
Georgina(乔治娜)
That’s all for this programme, but to find out more about your own implicit biases based on race, sexuality or weight, search online for ‘Harvard IAT’ and take a test yourself. You may be surprised what you find out!
And to hear more topical discussion and vocabulary join us again soon at 6 Minute English, download the app at your usual app store and follow us on social media. Bye for now!
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