一项研究表明，睡眠呼吸暂停综合症这个可以使人在夜间喘不过气的睡眠疾病也许与患者舌头上的脂肪量有关。

Researchers don’t know why fat collects on the tongue, but they do know that larger and fattier tongues are more common among overweight people, who are more likely to experience this serious sleep condition.

研究人员们不清楚为什么脂肪会积聚在舌头上，但他们知道舌头体积大、堆积脂肪量高在超重者中更常见，这些人也更有可能患有这种严重的睡眠疾病。

In a study of 67 people treated for sleep apnoea who had lost body weight, scans suggested it was the reduction in volume of tongue fat which prompted improvements in their sleep. The researchers say the less fat on the tongue, the less likely it is to collapse and block the airways during sleep. Sleep apnoea can affect people’s quality of life by leaving them exhausted and stressed during the day.

一项研究观察了67位接受睡眠呼吸暂停综合症治疗且体重减轻的患者，扫描图像显示，正是舌头上脂肪量的减少促进了他们的睡眠得到了改善。研究人员们表示，舌头上的脂肪越少，它在睡眠时松垮并阻塞呼吸道的可能性就越低。睡眠呼吸暂停会影响人们的生活质量，让他们在白天感到筋疲力尽，紧张焦虑。

The Pennsylvania researchers say there may be many people with fatty tongues who are at risk of the condition who are not obese. They now want to find out if some low-fat diets could specifically target fat in the tongue. Exercises for the upper airway to improve breathing are also being studied.

宾夕法尼亚大学的研究人员表示，可能有许多舌头上脂肪量高却不肥胖的人有患这种病的危险。他们现在想查明一些低脂饮食是否对降低舌头上的脂肪量有效。同时，为改善呼吸的上呼吸道功能训练也正在研究中。

词汇

fattier 脂肪量更高的
overweight 超重的
apnoea 睡眠呼吸暂停综合征
volume 体积
airways 呼吸道，气管
quality of life 生活质量
obese 肥胖的
target 针对、以……为目标

阅读理解：请在读完上文后，回答下列问题。

1. What type of people are more likely to have larger and fattier tongues?

2. According to the study, how could losing body weight specifically help to improve people’s sleep?

3. True or false? Fatty tongues that block airways and cause sleep problems are only found in obese people.

4. How does sleep apnoea affect someone’s quality of life?

答案

1. What type of people are more likely to have larger and fattier tongues?
Larger and fattier tongues are more common among overweight people, who are more likely to experience this serious apnoea.

2. According to the study, how could losing body weight specifically help to improve people’s sleep?
In a study of 67 people treated for sleep apnoea who had lost body weight, scans suggested it was the reduction in volume of tongue fat which prompted improvements in their sleep.

3. True or false? Fatty tongues that block airways and cause sleep problems are only found in obese people.
False. The Pennsylvania researchers say there may be many people with fatty tongues who are at risk of the condition who are not obese.

4. How does sleep apnoea affect someone’s quality of life?
Sleep apnoea can affect people’s quality of life by leaving them exhausted and stressed during the day.