The truth about the slimming pills thousands of Britons pop every day .

　　真实的减肥药案例：每天有成千上万的英国人服用减肥药 。

　　Two weeks ago, a most unusual job was advertised.

　　两周前，一份最奇怪的工作被刊登在广告栏中。

[page]

        For a year, the successful candidate would need to commit to nothing more strenuous than eating an extra 400 calories a day and taking a non-prescription diet pill, for which they would be paid ?23,750.

　　在接下来的一年中，这位员工最繁重的工作就是每天多吃400卡路里的食物，并且同时服用该公司的减肥药，为此他将会获得两万三千七百五十英镑的收入。

[page]

　

        Proactol, the company behind the ad and the pills, has been swamped with replies - more than 1,000 in the first week.

　　英国食品企业Proactol公司生产了这种减肥药并同时策划了这条广告，应征者将公司围得水泄不通，仅第一周就有超过一千人来参加面试。

　　Last week, another diet pill was in the news, as scientists at the University of Liverpool reported that taking Zotrim, a herbal weight-loss pill, caused women to cut their calorie intake by 17.6 per cent.

　　就在上周，另一种减肥药又成为了新闻的焦点。利物浦大学的科学家们报告说，如果妇女服用这种名叫Zotrim的天然草药减肥药，她们将会减少摄入17.6%卡路里的食物。

[page]

        With one-third of Britons classified as overweight, the nation spends ?11billion a year trying to get thin.

　　由于三分之一的英国人体重超标，英国每年花在减肥上的费用高达110亿英镑。

　　It shouldn't be so hard, since all you need to do to lose weight is to consume fewer calories than your body burns up, yet it is something that many of us find fiendishly difficult.

　　其实减肥并不难，你所需要做的就是摄入的卡路里比消耗的卡路里少，但在大多数人眼里，这一点却很难做到。