Putting in water fountains(饮水器) at schools, and teaching children about the health benefits of water, could reduce their risk of getting extra pounds, reports a new study that is published in the latest issue of the journal pediatrics.
The findings are based on a survey in 32 elementary schools of two German cities, Dortmund and Essen. The researchers, led by Rebecca Muckelbauer, a nutrionist at the Research Institute of Child Nutrition Dortmund, weighed about 3,000 children, and asked them about their beverage(饮料) consumption.
At the beginning of the school year, the experts had water fountains added to 17 of the schools. The scientists also worked with teachers to carry out educational programs that promote the benefits of drinking water. In contrast to schools in the United States, there are very few schools in Germany that have water fountains.
At the beginning of the study, there were no big differences in the number of overweight children in different groups. But by the end of the school year, children in the schools with water fountains were 31 percent less likely to gain extra pounds, compared to kids who went to other schools, where water drinking was not encouraged.
Children in the schools with fountains, increased their water consumption from about 3 up to 4 glasses a day, while those in the other schools continued to drink an average of 3 glasses. Over the research, the number of overweight kids upped from 384 to 385 out of 1,641 at the schools with water fountains. In comparison, the number of overweight kids at the other schools increased from 339 to 364 out of 1,309, Dr. Muckelbauer said.
The experts cannot make any final conclusions and explain why the students who were encouraged to drink water were less likely to gain extra weight. Dr. Muckelbauer noted that according to a few other studies, drinking of water increases the rate at which calories are burned, while some other research suggested that water may temporarily decrease appetite.
小题1:According to the text, the journal Pediatrics__________.
A．may cover the subject of the health of children
B．mainly deals with the water drinking problem
C．is mainly about the mental health of kids
D．must be a journal entitled(授权) by a school小题2:What do we know about the survey from the text?
A．The teacher were also encouraged to drink water.
B．The students surveyed were all overweight.
C．It surveyed children in the countryside.
D．It lasted for a whole school year.小题3:The fifth paragraph is mainly about __________.
A．the technique used in the survey
B．the benefits of the survey
C．the process of the survey
D．the result of the survey小题4:What can be learned from the last paragraph?
A．Drinking water definitely decreases appetite.
B．Further research is needed to confirm the finding.
C．The experts will encourage all the students to drink water.
D．Why students drinking more get less pounds will be clear soon.
