Many of us start pounding away on the treadmill in the hope we can melt our spare tyres, bingo wings and love handles. But new research has revealed that we may be able to burn more fat without actually doing more exercise.

　　我們大部分人都在跑步機上咚咚咚地跑著，希望可以消解啤酒肚、蝴蝶袖和腰間贅肉。但新一項研究顯示，也許我們可以不用多做運動就可以燃燒更多脂肪。

　　Simply changing the timing of when we eat means we could burn up to 22 per cent more fat, scientists claim.

　　科學家稱只要改變我們進食的時機就可以多燃燒22%的脂肪。

　　As part of the experiment, Dr Adam Collins, of the University of Surrey, recruited 30 volunteers. These included 13 men and 17 women who did not normally do a lot of exercise.

　　薩里大學亞當柯林斯博士召集了30名志愿者，其中13男17女，都不怎么運動。

　　For four weeks, they took part in three classes a week; a high intensity training class, Zumba and a spin class. They all consumed a drink before and after each class, but some were drinking a placebo with no calories, while others consumed a calorie-controlled carbohydrate drink.

　　連續四周，他們每周參加3堂課，分別是高強度的訓練課、尊巴舞和旋轉球課。他們都每節課前喝一杯飲料，但有些人喝的是不含熱量的安慰劑，另一些人喝的是控制熱量的碳水化合物飲料。

　　This allowed Dr Collins to test the effects of eating carbohydrates before and after exercising. At the beginning and end of the experiment, they tested how much fat the volunteers were burning while at rest, along with their weight, waist circumference and blood sugar and blood fat levels.

　　這樣柯林斯博士就可以測試運動前后進食碳水化合物的不同效果了。在實驗初始和終了都測試了志愿者休息時候脂肪燃燒量及體重、腰圍尺寸、血糖和血脂水平。

　　The experiment showed men should eat after exercising to maximise fat-burning, while women should eat before. This is because men are more muscly, and as carbohydrates are stored in muscles, this is their bodies' preferred fuel. Women's bodies, on the other hand, are programmed to burn fat in order to conserve carbohydrates in the body.

　　實驗顯示，男性運動后進食可以讓脂肪燃燒達最大化，而女性應該先吃。因為男性肌肉更多，碳水化合物存儲在肌肉中，是男性身體最佳能量來源。而另一方面，女性身體得先燃燒脂肪才能在體內儲存碳水化合物。

　　Being able to switch between burning glucose (carbohydrates) and fat, is the key to good health. Most people who are obese are metabolically inflexible.

　　可以轉化葡萄糖（碳水化合物）和脂肪是健康的關鍵。大部分人肥胖都是因為不能靈活新陳代謝。

　　(來源：滬江英語)