Earth Mate Talk スクリプト
第９回「肥満大国アメリカ」
In this earthmate talk, Dan and Ruriko are talking about obesity in the US.
- Dan: Hey Ruriko, you know that my dad's a doctor right?
- Ruriko: Yeah. Your dad is a fun guy. How's he doing, by the way? Didn't he have surgery recently?
- D: Yes, he's recovering. Since he's semi-retired, he's able to get some rest.
- R: Please wish him my best.
- D: Thanks Ruriko! You know, the other day my dad and I were talking.
- R: About what?
- D: Obesity, or fat people.
- R: Oh yeah, it's such a problem in the United States, and Europe as well.
- D: It is. It is. My dad sometimes works at an obesity clinic to help people lose weight. It's really an epidemic in this country.
- R: Yeah, it's so different from Japan. In the US, everything is so big. You know, snack foods are big, steaks are big, everything is just huge.
- D: It's too huge really. My younger sister, who lived in Italy for several years, has a theory about why people are fat in this country.
- R: Really? What is it?
- D: Well, she says Americans have too much choice. We have so many options- there are hundreds of kinds of candies, dozens of kinds of potato chips, who knows how many fast food restaurants. When you have so much choice, it is hard not to eat. That's what my sister thinks.
- R: I think I agree with her. Too much choice is part of the problem. You know, there is a documentary called Super Size Me. In the US, when you go to McDonalds, you can get an extra large French fries and soft drink. They're very very big. In this documentary, a man eats at McDonalds every day for a month. He eats 90 meals there!
- D: I saw that movie too. I couldn't believe how fat and sick he got in only a month. You know, it really is a problem. Fast food restaurants are cheap, right.
- R: Yeah.
- D: For about 3 dollars, you can eat lunch. The poor in this country eat at McDonalds and other fast food restaurants because it is cheap. And because the food is unhealthy, they get fat. In our society, the poor are fatter than the rich. In the past, all around the world, it was the opposite, you know. The rich were fat because they could afford to buy food. The poor were skinny because they couldn't buy food.
- R: It's true. It's sad really. Obesity is an epidemic. Something like 60% of Americans are overweight. 60%! That is huge.
- D: You know, when Japanese people come over here, I bet they are surprised.
- R: Yes they are. Very surprised. It takes time to get used to the size of the people here. In this country, everything is super sized, even the people.
- D: Yeah, this is a major social problem. In Japan, the major issue is the low birth rate and shrinking population, right. In this country, the problem is fattening population.
- R: Yeah. Now that our students know about this problem, they have a little more insight into American culture.
- D: We'll keep teaching you all we can about American culture through our Earthmate talk, right Ruriko.
- R: Exactly. I wonder what we'll talk about next.
- D: It's a surprise!
- R: Oh! I love surprises.
- D: Me too! Thanks for listening.
- R: Bye!!