Or do they? If I were to ask you to create a mental image of a French woman in your mind, what would she look like? I bet many of you are picturing a slender woman, lounging at an outdoor café with a cigarette and an espresso.

Well, recent research has revealed that French women may not be as svelte as we imagine. About 11% of French people are obese and 30% or more are overweight. Although these numbers are well behind the US and some other European countries—like Britain—the rate at which this percentage is growing is what concerns the French government. Adults are gaining by 6% each year and children, by 17%.

Some attribute this rapidly expanding waistline to the adoption of some western eating habits. McDonald’s has had a 42% sales increase in France over the past five years and soft drinks and fruit juices are now prevalent. The average time spent eating meals has greatly decreased. Food industry experts predict that foreign investment from fast food chains and prepared food brands will continue as the French dispose of their old eating habits—smaller-portioned, formal meals—and order up the convenience of fast fare.

But the French are taking notice. Weight Watchers has reported that business is flourishing. A new law has banned vending machines from schools, in an effort to curb snack and bottled drink purchases made by children. In addition, the government’s Deputy Health Minister has called for schools to monitor children’s weight and promote at least 30 minutes of activity each day. Most recently, the French government passed a law that levies a 1.5% tax on the advertising budgets of food companies that do not promote healthy eating.

Who would have thought that a deviation from cheese and pâté could actually lead to weight gain? Makes you realize the importance of everything in moderation…

Do you think that a tax on the advertising budgets of food companies that manufacture and promote unhealthy foods would work here in the US?

Yes

No

Not Sure

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