随身英语 Convenience vs health: the takeaway dilemma 图

陈小将

点外卖是一种很好的享受，既省时，又省事。现在，用智能手机点外卖比以往任何时候都要容易。这也许就是为什么有越来越多的人选择美味的外卖快餐。但对于经常吃外卖的人来说，不光是金钱，身体健康可能也要付出代价。
词汇：eating 饮食
Feeling hungry? If you’re feeling peckish or famished, what’s the easiest way to satisfy your hunger? Many of us will reach for a takeaway menu and order some delicious – but possibly unhealthy – food.  And our increasingly busy and hectic lives add to our need to buy ready-made food on the go or delivered to home.
Eating options are endless, and new technology means we can feed our cravings at the push of a button. Takeaway delivery apps make ordering food quick and convenient, and during the recent coronavirus crisis, it provided a lifeline to those stuck at home with nothing to cook or who lacked the skills to prepare a meal for themselves. It’s estimated that in the UK alone, people eat three million takeaway meals a day, and the three biggest delivery apps together offer a choice of 100 cuisines from 60,000 restaurants.  Amelia Brophy, Head of UK Data Products at YouGov, told the BBC that its research “suggests that the frequency of takeaways ordered is expected to increase in the future.”
It’s no wonder we are tempted to skip the grocery shopping, bypass the kitchen, and tuck into something that someone else has prepared.  But ordering a deep crust pizza, a spicy curry or a box of noodles, can come at a price both financially and to our health. Eating too much processed and unhealthy fast food has some effect on obesity and the risk of developing certain metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. A few years ago, The BBC Good Food Nation Survey found that most people ate fast food on average two days per week. But, in the 16 to 20-year-old category, one in six ate fast food at least twice a day.
Of course, reducing salt, sugar and fat is one way to make takeaway food healthier, as well as offering smaller portion sizes. But the best advice you might want to take away from this Takeaway English is to find a recipe book and try making your own nutritious meal. And if you haven’t got time, try ordering a healthier alternative from the menu.