Your health in your hands

　　从握力看健康

手劲和健康相关 握力越弱死亡风险越高(双语)

　　Vocabulary: health 健康

　　My mother used to say my health was in my hands. I choose what I eat, whether I smoke and how fit I should be so… yes, she had a point. And scientists suspect that what my mother said was not just a figure of speech: the state of our health might be shown in the strength of our grip。

　　An international research team has just published a paper in the Lancet suggesting that the measure of how strong your fingers are when grasping an object might be better than blood pressure when predicting your risk of heart attack or stroke。

　　Nearly 140,000 people in 14 countries took part in the study. Dr Darryl Leong, a researcher at McMaster University in Canada, said: "Grip strength could be an easy and inexpensive test to assess an individual's risk of death and cardiovascular disease."

　　Further studies need to be done in order to ascertain the strength of the connection between the worsening of our heart's health and a weaker grip. What is known is that hardening arteries might reduce the strength of our muscles。

　　The stats show that women in their mid-20s have a grip strength of about 34kg, which reduces to around 24kg by the time they hit their 70s. Men go from 54kg to 38kg in old age。

　　According to the study, each 5kg reduction in grip strength increases the odds of dying early by 16%。

　　I wonder what my mother's reaction to this study would be. She was a very practical woman who lived well into her 80s. She'd probably say: "Get a grip on your health! Put that cream cake down and get some exercise!"

　　词汇表请参看答案与词汇部分

　　Does the palm hold the secret of heart health?

　　Quiz 测验

　　阅读短文并回答问题。

　　1. Did the author disagree with her mother's advice?

　　2. What are the two ways mentioned in the article of predicting the risk of a heart attack?

　　3. How many people took part in the study?

　　4. True or false? The researchers have established a clear link between grip strength and heart disease。

　　5. According to the study, what is the average grip strength of an elderly woman?

　　Exercise 练习

　　请你在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。从每个表格中选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。

　　1. If you want to live longer you should try and be _________。

　　grip fit odds grasp

　　2. Calm down or your _________ will increase。

　　stroke muscles grip blood pressure

　　3. When I said you should think out of the box, it was _________. Leave the box alone!

　　a figure of speech get a grip in the palm of your hand a point

　　4. You drink too much. It's no surprise the doctor wants to _________ the health of your liver。

　　suggest grip suspect assess

　　5. Here's a _________ suggestion to improve your health: Eat more fruit and vegetables!

　　Answers and Glossary 答案与词汇

　　Quiz 小测验

　　1. Did the author disagree with her mother's advice? No. She said her mother had a point。

　　2. What are the two ways mentioned in the article of predicting the risk of a heart attack? Measuring grip strength and measuring blood pressure。

　　3. How many people took part in the study? About 140,000 in 14 countries。

　　4. True or false? The researchers have established a clear link between grip strength and heart disease. False. The researchers say there might be a link between grip strength and heart disease, but more research needs to be done to establish the strength of the connection。

　　5. According to the study, what is the average grip strength of an elderly woman? It's 24kg。

　　Exercise 练习

　　1. If you want to live longer you should try and be fit。

　　2. Calm down or your blood pressure will increase。

　　3. When I said you should think out of the box, it was a figure of speech. Leave the box alone!

　　4. You drink too much. It's no surprise the doctor wants to assess the health of your liver。

　　5. Here's a practical suggestion to improve your health: Eat more fruit and vegetables!

　　Glossary 词汇表

　　fit

　　健康的

　　to have a point

　　(讲话)有道理

　　figure of speech

　　比喻

　　grip

　　握力

　　paper (scientific)

　　(科学)文献，论文

　　blood pressure

　　血压

　　heart attack

　　心脏病发作，心肌梗塞

　　stroke

　　中风

　　cardiovascular disease

　　心血管疾病，冠心病

　　to harden the arteries

　　动脉硬化

　　muscle

　　肌肉

　　odds

　　几率

　　to get a grip

　　控制，把握