泰國僧侶界掀起"減肥風"

Steps are being taken in Thailand to wean Buddhist monks off unhealthy food after a study suggested that almost half of them are overweight.

泰國正在採取各種措施幫佛教僧侶們改掉不健康的飲食習慣，因爲已有調查表明，近一半的泰國僧侶超重。

Jongjit Angkatavanich, a health and nutrition expert at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, says 48% of monks are obese, the Bangkok Post reports. Her warning that "Obesity in our monks is a ticking time bomb" seems to have given the religious authorities cause for concern, with her figures showing that 42% have high cholesterol levels, 23% suffer from high blood pressure, and over 10% are diabetic. Dr Jongjit didn't say how many monks were involved in a study, but she's helping to roll out a national programme aimed at slimming down Thailand's holy men.

據《曼谷郵報》報道，曼谷朱拉隆功大學營養飲食專家宗集德提供的數據顯示，泰國48%的僧侶過於肥胖，42%的僧侶體內膽固醇含量偏高，23%患有高血壓，還有超過10%的僧侶患有糖尿病。宗集德認爲，“僧侶肥胖問題是一顆定時炸彈”。宗教當局似乎也開始注意到這個問題了。宗集德教授並未透露此次研究中所涉及的僧侶人數。她本人正在協助推動一個全國性項目的展開，旨在幫泰國聖僧減肥。

The government already covers medical fees for monks, who play a prominent part in Thailand's social and religious life, and spent more than 300m baht (￡6m; $8.5m) on countering chronic obesity-related problems in 2012 alone, the paper says. Dr Jongjit singles out the sweet drinks and fatty foods that members of the public donate to the monks, and her Faculty of Allied Heath Sciences university is launching a campaign to promote leaner clerical living.

該報道稱，僧侶在泰國的社會和宗教生活中扮演着舉足輕重的角色，政府已經爲僧侶們下發了醫療撥款，僅2012年一年，政府在解決僧侶們因肥胖導致的各類慢性病上花費的金錢就超過了3億銖。宗集德教授會在香客捐贈給僧侶的飲食中進行篩選，剔除含糖飲料和高脂食物。她所任教大學的聯合健康科學系也推出了幫助僧侶日常瘦身的系列活動。

A monastic college and four temples in Bangkok are pioneering nutritional cooking programmes heavy on fibre, protein and calcium, and encouraging the clerics to take more physical exercise. Dr Jongjit says the monks involved have already lost an average of one kilogram (2.2lb) in weight over eight weeks, cut their waistlines by 1.4cm (half an inch), and seen drops in cholesterol levels. Some monks complain that they don't know how much weight they're putting on, which is why Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital has launched a special girdle that tightens around the waist as a gentle reminder.

曼谷的一所僧侶學院和四座寺廟，都在力推高纖維、高蛋白和高鈣質的僧侶營養餐項目，還鼓勵僧侶們多運動。宗集德教授表示，參與這些項目的僧侶們在8周時間內平均瘦了1千克，腰圍縮小了1.4釐米，體內膽固醇含量也明顯下降了。一些僧侶抱怨無法從直觀上判斷自己到底長了多少肉，爲此，朱拉隆功紀念醫院推出了一款特製束腰帶，可以在僧侶們長胖的時候給他們一點溫馨提示。