France targets 'le snack' in obesity battle

[T_i_B]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/02/wsnack02.xml

Even in a country renowned for its exquisite food and adhesion to regular meal times, there has been no escape from "le snacking" and the rise of obesity.

The French are now consuming so much fat, salt and sugar that all advertisements for products considered unhealthy will, from today, be accompanied by health warnings. They will accompany publicity in newspapers and magazines, on television and radio and online.

As fast-food chains such as McDonald's become more and more popular, ministers want people to concentrate on fresh food and vegetables and to increase the amount of exercise they take. The health ministry, which designed the measure, says it will help children "guide themselves" towards making better "eating decisions".

The advice flies in the face of the image of the svelte and cuisine-conscious French, perpetuated by books like Mireille Guiliano's best seller French Women Don't Get Fat. The book argues that the French can eat croissants and foie gras without ballooning because they savour flavours and do not eat huge portions.

[tanyev]

1. George Bush didn't need to bomb Iraq. All he had to do was go in there

with McDonalds, Wal-Marts, and Britney Spears. Mission Accomplished.

[KittyWampus]

6. There is so much truth in what you just posted. It reads as snark, but it's what SHOULD have been.

Cultural exchange both ways.

And also, huge bribes.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

2. Even more horrifying than the rise in obesity and death ...

The French language has been diluted by another word from English: "snack". This is reason enough to abolish the word and the practice, sending it north through the chunnel, propeled by methane or other greenhouse gases.

"l'horreur!"

:o

[insane_cratic_gal]

3. Where ever McDonlads pops up

so does the waist line. Maybe Prince Charles is right in coming out against them. I know I don't let my child eat that crap, and it's a constant struggle to keep her off all of the other crap they have in grocery stores or even in school lunches!

[Mandate My Ass]

4. I was in Paris a little over a year ago

I saw no obese people and very few overweight people. And I do believe portion control and the avoidance of processed food has a lot to do with it.

[La_Fourmi_Rouge]

5. The French express alarm when the obesity rate exceeds 4%.

Compare that to the USA, where the rate is more like 30%.

I think the difference is due not only to a tradition of healthy cuisine, but also to the fact that people do not spend 6 - 8 hours a day in front of the TV.

[llmart]

7. I thought it was closer to 50% here?