原文標題：
Eat, inject, repeat
New drugs could spell an end to the world’s obesity epidemic
吃藥、注射、重復
新藥或將終結全球肥胖流行病

The long-term effects must be carefully studied. But the excitement is justified
必須仔細研究長期影響。但對此感到興奮是合理的

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The new obesity drugs arrived by serendipity, after treatments meant for diabetics were observed to cause weight loss.
新型減肥藥的發(fā)現純屬機緣巧合，它們原本是給糖尿病患者的治療方案，被觀察到具有減輕體重的功效。

Semaglutide mimics the release of hormones that stimulate a feeling of fullness and reduce the appetite.
司美格魯肽模擬了激素的釋放，從而引起飽腹感并減少食欲。

They also switch off the powerful urge to eat that lurks inside the brain, waiting to ambush even the keenest dieter.
它們還可以關閉隱藏在大腦內的強烈進食沖動。這種進食沖動等待時機埋伏，而即使是最有決心的減肥者也無法抵御。

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With the jabs already in high demand, investors are nearly as giddy as newly slim users.
由于這種注射減肥藥的需求不斷增加，投資者幾乎和新的瘦身用戶一樣興奮。

The market capitalisation of Novo Nordisk, the firm at the front of the gold rush, has doubled in two years, to $326bn, making it the second-most-valuable listed drugmaker in the world.
這波賺錢熱潮的弄潮兒是諾和諾德公司，它的市值已經在兩年內翻了一番，達到了 3260 億美元，成為全球市值排名第二的上市藥企。

Analysts expect half of obese Americans who seek help to be on GLP-1 drugs by the turn of the decade.
分析師預計，到2030年，尋求減肥的美國人中將有一半比例會使用 GLP-1 類藥物。

But, as with any new medicine that holds so much promise for so many, there are uncertainties. Two big ones will be safety and affordability.
但是，像任何有望對許多人有所幫助的新藥一樣，存在不確定性。其中有2個最大的不確定性：即安全性和經濟性。

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Consider safety first. The newness of these drugs means that their long-term consequences are not yet known.
首先是考慮安全性?！靶滤帯币惨馕吨鼈兊拈L期影響尚未知曉。

For the lower-dose forms prescribed for diabetes, the side-effects, such as vomiting and diarrhoea, have been mild.
治療糖尿病的低劑量用法，產生的嘔吐和腹瀉等副作用相對較輕。

But others could crop up as the drugs are used more widely and at higher doses.
但是，隨著這些藥物的廣泛使用和劑量增加，其他副作用可能會出現。

Animal studies have shown a higher incidence of thyroid cancer, and semaglutide is associated with a rare pancreatitis.
動物研究表明，司美格魯肽與高甲狀腺癌發(fā)病率及罕見的胰腺炎有關。

Little is known about the effects of using them during or just before pregnancy.
懷孕期間或備孕期間使用這些藥物的影響尚不明確。

All this will require careful analysis through controlled longitudinal studies.
以上這些的影響需要通過控制性縱向研究進行仔細分析。

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Understanding these risks will be important, because many patients who take the drugs may need them for the rest of their lives.
了解這些風險至關重要，因為許多服用這些藥物的患者可能需要終身用藥。

As with ditching a diet, stopping a high dose of semaglutide is associated with much of the lost weight piling back on. Some people even gain more weight than they lost in the first place.
和停止節(jié)食一樣，停止服用高劑量的司美格魯肽會導致減掉的體重反彈回來。一些人反彈的體重甚至會比最初減掉的體重更多。

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Another preoccupation for policymakers is cost.
政策制定者的另一個關注點是成本。

In America the bill for Wegovy runs at around $1,300 a month; for Ozempic about $900.
在美國，Wegovy的費用約為1300美元/月，Ozempic約為900美元/月。

Judged by such prices, lifelong prescriptions look forbiddingly expensive.
以這樣的價格來看，終身用藥的費用高得離譜。

The longer view, however, is more encouraging. In time, companies may strike deals with governments and health providers to cover the whole population, ensuring high volumes in return for low prices.
然而，長遠來看，前景更加鼓舞人心。隨著時間的推移，藥企可能會與政府和醫(yī)療保健提供者達成協議，這樣醫(yī)保覆蓋全部人群，就能以低價換高量。

The prospect of profits is already luring competition and spurring innovation.
利潤前景已經吸引了競爭者并推動了創(chuàng)新。

Amgen, AstraZeneca and Pfizer are all working on rival drugs; Novo Nordisk has a full pipeline of follow-on drugs.
安進、阿斯利康和輝瑞都在研發(fā)競品藥物；諾和諾德擁有完整的后繼藥物研發(fā)生產系統。

Further ahead still, patents will expire, enabling the development of lower-priced generics.
再往前看，專利將到期，這將有助于開發(fā)價格更低的仿制藥。

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The shape of things to come
未來的形態(tài)

What to do in the meantime? Governments must ensure that those who most need the drugs get them, leaving those taking them for cosmetic purposes to pay out of their own pockets.
那么在此期間應該怎么做呢？政府必須確保最需要的人能夠得到這種藥，讓那些僅出于美容目的使用的人自己承擔費用。

The long-term effects must be carefully studied.
必須仔細研究長期影響。

States should keep pressing other anti-obesity measures, such as exercise, healthy eating and better food labelling, which may help prevent people from getting fat in the first place.
各國應該繼續(xù)推動其他減肥措施，如運動、健康飲食和更好的食品標識，這些措施有助于提前預防長胖。

But spare a moment to celebrate, too. These new drugs mean that the world’s fight against flab may eventually be won.
但同時也應該慶祝一下。這些新藥意味著全球人民對抗肥胖的戰(zhàn)斗中最終取得勝利。

（恭喜讀完，本篇英語詞匯量 494/1073 左右）
原文出自：2023年3月4日《The Economist》Leaders版塊。
精讀筆記來源于：自由英語之路

本文翻譯整理: Irene本文編輯校對: Irene
僅供個人英語學習交流使用。

【補充資料】（來自于網絡）
控制性縱向研究(Controlled longitudinal studies)是一種研究設計，其目的是觀察和分析在一段時間內相同群體的變化和發(fā)展。在這種研究中，參與者在研究開始時接受評估，并在隨后的時間點接受進一步的評估。這種評估可以包括問卷調查、心理測量、醫(yī)學檢查等。與橫斷面研究相比，長期研究的優(yōu)勢在于它們能夠捕捉到時間對變量的影響，例如一項干預措施的效果、生物指標的變化等。此外，受試者作為自己的對照組，因此能夠更準確地評估變化的程度。

【重點句子】（3?個）
Semaglutide mimics the release of hormones that stimulate a feeling of fullness and reduce the appetite.
司美格魯肽模擬了激素的釋放，從而引起飽腹感并減少食欲。

Consider safety first. The newness of these drugs means that their long-term consequences are not yet known.
首先是考慮安全性?！靶滤帯币惨馕吨鼈兊拈L期影響尚未知曉。

The prospect of profits is already luring competition and spurring innovation.
利潤前景已經吸引了競爭者并推動了創(chuàng)新。