Powerful career women who hold top jobs in law, medicine and business are slimming down, according official figures.They are the only social group to lose weight in the past 15 years while the study reveals everyone else is growing fatter.
官方數據顯示，法律、醫學及商界的高職位強勢女性身材日趨苗條。調查顯示，過去15年來，幾乎所有人都在增胖，唯獨這一群體體重竟是下降的。
New data from the National Obesity Observatory (NOO) shows that 15 per cent of professional women were obese in 1997, but that figure had fallen to 14 per cent by 2008.
據英國國家肥胖論壇最新數據顯示，1997年職業女性的肥胖率是15%，到了2008年，該比率已下降至14%。
NOO, which has monitored obesity issues in the UK since 2007, highlighted how the percentage of professional men classified as fat rose from 15 to 20 per cent between 1997 and 2008.
國家肥胖論壇自2007年起就一直在調查英國的肥胖問題。該組織發現，1997年至2008年，職業男性的肥胖率已從15%上升至20%。
Two reasons were said to behind the trend for slimmer women - they are still judged on their appearance rather than skill and their ambition to be better than their male colleagues.
兩大原因可以解釋女性日趨苗條的現象：其一，社會通常以相貌而非技能來評判女性；其二，女性比男性更容易爭強好勝。
Professional women are aware of a bias against those who are overweight, according to Andrew Hill, professor of medical psychology at Leeds University.
利茲大學的醫學心理學教授安德魯·希爾表示，職業女性很清楚社會對肥胖人群存有偏見。
He said: 'Appearance is the most important attribute for women in our society. Valuing them only for their appearance is a way for me to subjugate them. 'There's no doubt that to be fat in our current society is adisadvantage particularly if you are female.'
他說：“相貌對現代女性而言至關重要。看女性外表也是我自己評判她們的一種方式。毋庸置疑，肥胖在現代社會絕非優點，女性要是肥胖恐怕會更難堪吧。”
Barrister Helen Jackson, who weighs 16 stone, told the Sunday Times that obese male lawyers were accepted in her profession but female ones were not.
海倫·傑克森是一名出庭律師，體重16英石（224磅）。她告訴《星期日泰晤士報》說，這行業能接納肥胖的男性律師，卻無法接受肥胖的女性律師。
'The pressure on women to look the part has definitely got worse since I was called to the bar in 1975,' she said. 'Women now are slaves to their appearance more than they ever were.'
“自打我1975年獲得律師資格以來，社會對女性相貌的要求越來越苛刻。現代女性越發淪為相貌的奴隸了。” 海倫說道。
In a survey published last month in Manchester and Melbourne, Australia, fat women scored worse in an assessment of their leadership potential. The 12 candidates - six obese and six slim - had identical educational CVs, but those who were overweight were judged more poorly by volunteer student who took part in the study.
上月曼徹斯特及澳大利亞的墨爾本公佈了一項調查，調查顯示，肥胖女性在領導潛能評估上得分很低。胖瘦各半的12名候選人具備差不多的教育履歷，但參加調查的志願者給肥胖候選人的評估普遍較差。
Former Tory Minister Ann Widdecombe was criticised for her appearance and subsequently lost weight when she appeared on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing show.
前任保守黨大臣安·威德庫姆曾因外表而遭戲謔，後來她參加BBC《一起來跳舞》節目時，明顯瘦多了。
She said society made demands on how women should look and added: 'I think the pressure on women to be concerned about their appearance has always been there.'
她說：“社會對女性的外貌比較苛刻，我覺得女性外貌的壓力一直都如影隨形吧。”
來源：滬江英語
