Santa Claus

　　Father Christmas is at risk of serious illness because of his bulging waistline and needs to cut down on the mince pies, doctors warned.

　　A survey of shopping centre Santas in Scotland revealed an average waist size of 47 inches - seven inches more than is considered safe.

　　Dr Miles Fisher, consultant physician at Glasgow Royal Infirmary said: "The image of Santa is of a round, jolly person but if you have obesity around your tummy, then it is very bad for you.

　　"Before, we thought it was just not good to be overweight but now we know that having fat around your middle is particularly bad.

　　"That fat produces hormones, which have been associated with heart disease and other conditions."

　　According to health guidelines, having a waist circumference of more than 40 inches for men or 35 inches for women is a key indicator of abdominal obesity.

　　It is associated with a greater risk of heart disease or type 2 diabetes. And people who have rounder stomachs, known as "central obesity", are more at risk than people who are merely overweight.

　　Perhaps Santa should consider cutting back on the sherry as well.

　　苏格兰近日对各大购物中心的圣诞老人所做的一项调查表明，圣诞老人的平均腰围为47英寸，比正常标准多出7英寸。

　　格拉斯哥皇家医院的顾问医师迈尔斯·费希尔博士说：“圣诞老人应该是那种圆乎乎的、快乐喜庆的形象。但如果圣诞老人有了‘大肚腩’，可就不好了。”

　　“过去我们一直认为体重超标有害健康，但现在我们发现肚子上脂肪过多对健康更为不利。”

　　“脂肪中会产生一些引发心脏病和其他疾病的激素。”

　　根据健康指南，男性的腰围若超过40英寸、女性腰围超过35英寸，就可以被认定为是腹型肥胖。

　　腹型肥胖极有可能会引发心脏病和2型糖尿病。被称为“中央肥胖”的“大肚腩”者比单纯的体重超标者患病的几率更大。

　　这样看来，圣诞老人可能还得考虑一下少喝雪利酒。

　　Vocabulary:

　　bulge : to curve outward(突出;膨胀)

　　waistline : the measurement of waist(腰围)

　　abdominal : 腹部的