"French Women Don't Get Fat"

I think it depends, same as here.

I've done two trips to Paris -- one when I was dirt-poor and ate accordingly, and one where I could splurge just a bit. The places I ate (and hung out at) when I was dirt-poor had a lot more fat French people than the places I ate (and hung out at) when I was splurging.

I thought the paternalism point was a really interesting one.

(Edited out thought about French women not buying diet books after re-reading what ehBeth posted, as it sounds like they have their body image issues, too.)

Statistics are not assumptions.

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The paternalism which led to French eating patterns of the 1940's+ was the issue of <ahem> some discussion at the other forum.

french women
on our recent cruise around south-america we stopped at ten ports and went ashore ; certainly did not see many overweight people ,
even though their pace seems slower than in north-america .
we were in buenos aires for two days and made sure that our "shopping excursions" - we didn't really buy much but liked just strolling around - took into account "siesta time" - at about 1 o'clock most of the stores closed down . the shutters came down , people either went home or went to the restaurants for a very leisurely lunch .
it's difficult for us to say why people are slimmer . when we were taken for lunch in a fish restaurant in rio , the portions were much larger than what we are used to . we spent about 1 1/2 hours over lunch : hard rolls , wine , a big platter of all kinds of great seafood , more wine , closed with papaya and scoop of first-class vanilla icecream (just ate the papaya) followed by a small cup of coffee - strong enough to raise one from deathbed !
i'm sure people do a lot more walking than most north-americans . looking at the shoes for sale in the stores , we wondered how people managed to squeeze their feet into those shoes ! they seemed large enough for our big toes . hbg

ehbeth, true statistics are from reputable sources, everything else
I take with a grain of salt.

Having traveled extensively in Europe (not only France) and the United
States, I safely can say, that its the American woman who's got a
problem, not the European one, and as hambuger pointed out, the
Southamerican woman neither.

french women
just thought i add a little :

while we did see fast-food restaurants , coke and pepsi etc in south-america , we did not see the "super-size" portions - such as "super-slushies" . i wonder if there may be a change in eating habits coming ? looking at germany , there seems to be a change taking place there : KIDS ARE GETTING HEAVIER !
i think that is difficult for parents to convince their children to eat healthy food when they are surrounded by junk food on all sides .
jamie oliver - the british cook - had a very interesting program (HG_TV ?) . he is trying to introduce wholesome, healthy food into british school cafeterias - it's an uphill battle ! if you have a chance to watch the program , do watch it ; it's actually quite funny in certain parts . hbg

french women
her is the website of jamie's ...FEED ME BETTER...TV show about introducing healthy food into school cafes . hbg. hbg

Ahh, thanks for the link, Francis!



I agree CJ! The Americans are the most overweight people on the planet. It's time we started changing some of our habits in this country.

It seems to me--if I may be permitted the genralization--that American women of our mid-west have the greatest difficulty with wieght, and for many of them it is not defined as a problem--nor for their husbands (my sister-in-law of rural Indiana is "morbidly" obese, and her husband, my brother, prefers her that way), and I attribute it to the mid-western diet. It so lacks in spices that satisfaction comes only from quantity. To be fed "better" is not to be fed "more."

But I wonder about Taylor's thesis, does it apply to rural as well as urban french women? Is there a difference?

By the way: the most convincing way to tell a lie is by means of manipulated statistics.

I was told that you will be soon checking the difference by yourself, JLN..

Hey, JL. I believe Mark Twain observed that as well.

I have been following this thread with some interest. First, all things being equal, (eating disorders; medical problems; etc.) I do believe it has to do with the gene pool. If I remember correctly, models were expected to be thin because the designer wanted the public to notice the haute coutier as opposed to the woman or man wearing the designer clothes. It doesn't matter what I eat, I still remain thin, but I will say this. One's body demands what is best for the physical well being, and if we listen, we will eat what is right.

Letty, you are among the fortunate few. I was like you in my thirties, but now I must watch the kinds and amounts of food I eat.

So, Sozobe, your observation is that "lower class" women are chubbier than are higher class women. I find that to be the case here as well, especially for people who eat a lot of fast foods.

My word, Francis, A2K is very much like a small town. Word gets around so fast. And like a small town it gets distorted in the process. I will not check out the French women by myself; I shall do so with my wife--as it should be. :wink:

You're getting already a French twisted mind, JLN. Your wife was in no way excluded from the checking...

Another squelch by Francis. Just don't check out the French men, JL.

Fast food doesn't have to be horrible or horrible for you ---

http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/04/30/travel/30choice.html

I'll admit not everything in that article is non fattening...

Check the slide show...
A2kers went through the Ferry Building back at the meeting in San Francisco in 2004. We didn't eat there but at an old sort of funky Embarcadero restaurant where we nearly had the place to ourselves, we were very-next to the Bay Bridge overlooking the water, and we all had a fine time driving the waitress to laughter..

french women
letty wrote : " I do believe it has to do with the gene pool " .

last week there was an article in our local paper referring to medical research being done on the influence of genes on weight .
the german magazine "spiegel" also has an article dealing with the question of "genes and weight" in its recent issue .
i'd still think that the amount of food being consumed has some influence on the weight of people .
i remember that that from about 1940 to 1948 there were not many overweight people in germany . at about 1,500 calories a day you didn't have much of a chance to become overweight . hbg

Oh, of course, hamburger. There is a margin of error in every scientific publication. I am just basically going on my own families' experience, and my own eating habits.

Oh! Just one other point I forgot to mention. Portions!

This relates to what JL was talking about. We Americans need to cut back on our portions. It's not like two hundred years ago when many Americans had to get up at the crack of dawn and work their farms, doing heavy manual labor all day.

The French, on the other hand, tend to eat much smaller portions than we do. I've heard so many of my fellow Americans complain that they don't like to go to French restaurants because, "they don't serve enough food." Ha!

I also dated a guy from England several years ago, and every time we went out to dinner, he was amazed at the big portions served in the average American restaurant.

But I think that trend is gradually changing. I think more and more people are eating smaller meals at restaurants, and most restaurants now have a "light menu" as well as vegetarian options.

Oh! Stray Cat! I couldn't agree with you more! It's all about portion size and knowing when enough is enough! I think I remember this from bio class once, (could be wrong), but an interesting thing about the body is this: by the time your brain tells you you're thirsty, its normally too late and you're begining to become dehydrated (not severely, but you should have a glass of water soon). On the other hand, your stomach will not tell your brain it is full, until it is too late! That's why they say you should eat your food slowly and savor it a bit more. You'll give your time for your stomach to tell you its done before its stuffed to the gills and its too late! Portions control! A novel concept indeed!

Are portions mentioned in the book "French Women Don't Get Fat"???