雙語閱讀｜美國：不平等與運動健身，分道揚鑣

IN A darkened room at the edge of downtown Washington, DC, electronic music pulses over the speakers as a crowd of mostly sweaty young women bop up and down. Candles burn at the front and inspirational slogans cover the walls. Sadly, this is not a drug-fuelled rave, but rather a mid-afternoon spin class. It is run by Soul Cycle, which promotes the idea that riding an exercise bike to loud music is akin to entering a 「soul sanctuary」. The experience, which also involves awkwardly lifting weights while cycling, costs about $35 for 45 minutes. This does not deter its well-heeled customers: 「Some of the women pay a lot of money to go here」, says a staff member, her eyebrows raised.

在華盛頓特區市中心的邊上一幽暗的房間里，電子音樂衝擊著揚聲器，一群汗流浹背的女孩隨音樂起起伏伏地跳著。在她們前面點著蠟燭，牆上掛著勵志口號。悲哀的是，它不是一場藥物刺激下的狂歡，而是斯賓課（spin class）的下午場。這是Soul Cycle開辦的動感腳踏車課程，推廣的一種理念：隨著高昂的音樂騎行，猶如參加了一次「靈魂救贖營」訓練。一節課45分鐘，在騎車同時可能還需要做一些笨拙地拉舉動作，單次收費在35美元。這並不妨礙有錢人紛紛加入，一位工作人員得意揚揚地說：「有些女人花很多錢來這裡」。

The recession of 2008 damaged many industries. One which emerged remarkably unscathed was exercise. According to figures from the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, an industry group, gym members now number 54m, up from 45m in 2009. Twice as many Americans subscribe to gyms as in the mid-1990s. Yet the population has not got visibly healthier. According to the Centres for Disease Control, a government agency, in 2013 a quarter of adults engaged in no leisure-time physical activity at all beyond the bedroom. Between 2001 and 2012, the age-adjusted proportion of the population who are obese or extremely obese grew from 36% to 41%. That increase has slowed of late, but it has not yet reversed.

2008年的經濟危機重創了很多行業。一個毫髮無損的興趣的行業卻是健身業。根據行業組織國際健康及運動俱樂部協會的數據，健身俱樂部會員現達到5400萬個，而2009年則只有4500萬個。報名參加健身俱樂部的人數比在1990s年代中期高了兩倍。然而，民眾的健康並未明顯改善。根據政府管理的疾病控制中心的數據，2013年只有1/4的成人參與室外非休閑性的身體運動。2001-2012年期間，肥胖或極度肥胖人口的比例從36%上升到41%。這一增長速度之後有所放緩，趨勢尚未扭轉。

The explanation of this paradox lies in who is doing the exercising. Where once 「prosperous」 was a synonym for overweight, being fit (and thin with it) is a marker of status. Outposts of Soul Cycle are to be found in the Hamptons and Westchester County in New York. In such places small gyms, yoga studios and the like, which make their money from hosting classes rather than through membership fees, proliferate. They advertise fitness as something close to religion. At CrossFit, which describes itself as a 「word and a phenomenon」, though it mostly involves weightlifting, customers are described as 「athletes」. Exercise is not quite yet a luxury good, but it may be getting that way.

對於這種矛盾的情況的解釋，在於誰在進行身體鍛煉。在「豐滿」一度是超重的代名詞的情況下，保持健美（或瘦）是身份的標誌。Soul Cycle的動感腳踏車起源於紐約的漢普頓和威徹斯特。在這些地區，小型的健身房和瑜伽館數量激增，他們不收取會員費，而按課時收費。他們將健身宣傳得近乎信仰。健身房CrossFit標榜自己是「流行詞（CrossFit）和趨向「，雖然它主要是舉重運動，卻將客戶稱為「運動員」。健身並非奢侈品，卻可能正在變得很奢侈。

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