《经济学人》双语：“减肥神药”火了，全球肥胖问题或将终结？（2）
原文标题：
Eat, inject, repeat
New drugs could spell an end to the world’s obesity epidemic
吃药、注射、重复
新药或将终结全球肥胖流行病
The long-term effects must be carefully studied. But the excitement is justified
必须仔细研究长期影响。但对此感到兴奋是合理的
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The new obesity drugs arrived by serendipity, after treatments meant for diabetics were observed to cause weight loss.
新型减肥药的发现纯属机缘巧合，它们原本是给糖尿病患者的治疗方案，被观察到具有减轻体重的功效。
Semaglutide mimics the release of hormones that stimulate a feeling of fullness and reduce the appetite.
司美格鲁肽模拟了激素的释放，从而引起饱腹感并减少食欲。
They also switch off the powerful urge to eat that lurks inside the brain, waiting to ambush even the keenest dieter.
它们还可以关闭隐藏在大脑内的强烈进食冲动。这种进食冲动等待时机埋伏，而即使是最有决心的减肥者也无法抵御。
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With the jabs already in high demand, investors are nearly as giddy as newly slim users.
由于这种注射减肥药的需求不断增加，投资者几乎和新的瘦身用户一样兴奋。
The
market capitalisation of Novo Nordisk, the firm at the front of the
gold rush, has doubled in two years, to $326bn, making it the
second-most-valuable listed drugmaker in the world.
这波赚钱热潮的弄潮儿是诺和诺德公司，它的市值已经在两年内翻了一番，达到了 3260 亿美元，成为全球市值排名第二的上市药企。
Analysts expect half of obese Americans who seek help to be on GLP-1 drugs by the turn of the decade.
分析师预计，到2030年，寻求减肥的美国人中将有一半比例会使用 GLP-1 类药物。
But,
as with any new medicine that holds so much promise for so many, there
are uncertainties. Two big ones will be safety and affordability.
但是，像任何有望对许多人有所帮助的新药一样，存在不确定性。其中有2个最大的不确定性：即安全性和经济性。
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Consider safety first. The newness of these drugs means that their long-term consequences are not yet known.
首先是考虑安全性。“新药”也意味着它们的长期影响尚未知晓。
For the lower-dose forms prescribed for diabetes, the side-effects, such as vomiting and diarrhoea, have been mild.
治疗糖尿病的低剂量用法，产生的呕吐和腹泻等副作用相对较轻。
But others could crop up as the drugs are used more widely and at higher doses.
但是，随着这些药物的广泛使用和剂量增加，其他副作用可能会出现。
Animal studies have shown a higher incidence of thyroid cancer, and semaglutide is associated with a rare pancreatitis.
动物研究表明，司美格鲁肽与高甲状腺癌发病率及罕见的胰腺炎有关。
Little is known about the effects of using them during or just before pregnancy.
怀孕期间或备孕期间使用这些药物的影响尚不明确。
All this will require careful analysis through controlled longitudinal studies.
以上这些的影响需要通过控制性纵向研究进行仔细分析。
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Understanding
these risks will be important, because many patients who take the drugs
may need them for the rest of their lives.
了解这些风险至关重要，因为许多服用这些药物的患者可能需要终身用药。
As with ditching
a diet, stopping a high dose of semaglutide is associated with much of
the lost weight piling back on. Some people even gain more weight than
they lost in the first place.
和停止节食一样，停止服用高剂量的司美格鲁肽会导致减掉的体重反弹回来。一些人反弹的体重甚至会比最初减掉的体重更多。
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Another preoccupation for policymakers is cost.
政策制定者的另一个关注点是成本。
In America the bill for Wegovy runs at around $1,300 a month; for Ozempic about $900.
在美国，Wegovy的费用约为1300美元/月，Ozempic约为900美元/月。
Judged by such prices, lifelong prescriptions look forbiddingly expensive.
以这样的价格来看，终身用药的费用高得离谱。
The
longer view, however, is more encouraging. In time, companies may
strike deals with governments and health providers to cover the whole
population, ensuring high volumes in return for low prices.
然而，长远来看，前景更加鼓舞人心。随着时间的推移，药企可能会与政府和医疗保健提供者达成协议，这样医保覆盖全部人群，就能以低价换高量。
The prospect of profits is already luring competition and spurring innovation.
利润前景已经吸引了竞争者并推动了创新。
Amgen, AstraZeneca and Pfizer are all working on rival drugs; Novo Nordisk has a full pipeline of follow-on drugs.
安进、阿斯利康和辉瑞都在研发竞品药物；诺和诺德拥有完整的后继药物研发生产系统。
Further ahead still, patents will expire, enabling the development of lower-priced generics.
再往前看，专利将到期，这将有助于开发价格更低的仿制药。
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The shape of things to come
未来的形态
What
to do in the meantime? Governments must ensure that those who most need
the drugs get them, leaving those taking them for cosmetic purposes to
pay out of their own pockets.
那么在此期间应该怎么做呢？政府必须确保最需要的人能够得到这种药，让那些仅出于美容目的使用的人自己承担费用。
The long-term effects must be carefully studied.
必须仔细研究长期影响。
States
should keep pressing other anti-obesity measures, such as exercise,
healthy eating and better food labelling, which may help prevent people
from getting fat in the first place.
各国应该继续推动其他减肥措施，如运动、健康饮食和更好的食品标识，这些措施有助于提前预防长胖。
But spare a moment to celebrate, too. These new drugs mean that the world’s fight against flab may eventually be won.
但同时也应该庆祝一下。这些新药意味着全球人民对抗肥胖的战斗中最终取得胜利。
（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇量 494/1073 左右）
原文出自：2023年3月4日《The Economist》Leaders版块。
精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路
本文翻译整理: Irene本文编辑校对: Irene
仅供个人英语学习交流使用。
【补充资料】（来自于网络）
控制性纵向研究(Controlled longitudinal studies)是一种研究设计，其目的是观察和分析在一段时间内相同群体的变化和发展。在这种研究中，参与者在研究开始时接受评估，并在随后的时间点接受进一步的评估。这种评估可以包括问卷调查、心理测量、医学检查等。与横断面研究相比，长期研究的优势在于它们能够捕捉到时间对变量的影响，例如一项干预措施的效果、生物指标的变化等。此外，受试者作为自己的对照组，因此能够更准确地评估变化的程度。
【重点句子】（3 个）
Semaglutide mimics the release of hormones that stimulate a feeling of fullness and reduce the appetite.
司美格鲁肽模拟了激素的释放，从而引起饱腹感并减少食欲。
Consider safety first. The newness of these drugs means that their long-term consequences are not yet known.
首先是考虑安全性。“新药”也意味着它们的长期影响尚未知晓。
The prospect of profits is already luring competition and spurring innovation.
利润前景已经吸引了竞争者并推动了创新。
