Obesity is on the rise in France, and by 2002 they may overtake the USA in their percenatge of the population that is overweight. Zut alors!
The French adoption of the fast-paced American lifestyle is one factor - time spent at meals is down, as is the frequency of family dinners. But let's point a finger at Mickey D's:
McDonald's is more profitable in France than anywhere else in Europe. Sales have increased 42 percent over the past five years. Some 1.2 million French, or 2 percent of the population, eat there every day.
1.2 million Frenchmen could be wrong.
We can save the polity trillions by making it physically demanding to acquire fat, sweets, and salt.
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Posted by: kim | January 26, 2006 at 08:51 AM
Hmmmm... 35 hour work week... lots of time at Mickey D's... long lunch breaks...
Now all they need is a national fitness craze... beyond running around because of a Car-B-Q that is...
Posted by: ajacksonian | January 26, 2006 at 10:39 AM
Would you like some homey fries with that Carbecue? Want it on White Bread?
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Posted by: kim | January 26, 2006 at 11:46 AM
Typo, should be: "by 2020 they may overtake the USA..."
Posted by: Forbes | January 26, 2006 at 04:40 PM
This is, I suspect, a bit of confirmation for the theories of Dr Atkins. The French have traditionally eaten a rich diet, with plenty of fats, and showed no great interest in exercise. But they did not become obese!
What's changed is the addition of more prepared and fast foods like we eat. Heavy on carbohydrates, with lots of refined sugar snuck in where you don't expect it.
Posted by: John Weidner | January 26, 2006 at 06:32 PM
Well, not quite. I should have added protein to my list. We used to have to exert ourselves in order to get food to eat. Those are the conditions under which our metabolisms were set. Now all we have to do is wave plastic around in the air. We must reform, or spend trillions on drugs to chase a horse that has fled the barn. I hope we don't have to return to foraging before the problem is solved.
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Posted by: kim | January 26, 2006 at 06:45 PM
France is actually one of the few growth territories that "McDo", as they call it there, has left. The head of McDonalds France is a French engineer with the "can do" spirit of that breed and he has recently been promoted to head up the entire European operations. He is being talked about as CEO material, which would presumably just make you guys' heads explode.
Posted by: dsquared | January 27, 2006 at 03:41 AM
No, it is excess calories and salt that makes our heads and bodies explode.
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Posted by: kim | January 27, 2006 at 07:19 AM