Indeed, though perhaps not on a par with global warming and looming water shortages, obesity – and especially childhood obesity – nonetheless is on the short list of major public-health challenges facing advanced countries in the twenty-first century, and it is rapidly affecting many emerging-market economies as well. Yet solving it poses much more difficult challenges than the kind of successful public-health interventions of the last century, including near-universal vaccination, fluoridation of drinking water, and motor-vehicle safety rules.
事实上，虽然或许难与全球变暖及迫在眉睫的水资源匮乏相提并论，但肥胖——尤其是儿童肥胖——仍然是二十一世纪发达国家所面临的重要公共卫生挑战之一，同时也在迅速影响许多新兴市场经济。但解决这个问题让我们面临比上世纪成功的公共卫生干预政策更为艰巨的挑战，包括普及接种、饮用水加氟和机动车安全规则问题。