French eating habits could make you slimmer

[LINDS]

I read this article on Msn.com yesterday and found it to be very interesting:
http://content.health.msn.com/content/article/72/81854.htm


French Secrets to Staying Slim
August 22, 2003 -- How can the French stay so slim, with all those luscious croissants, cheeses, pastries, and sauces?
--A new study brings home what's known as "the French Paradox." Despite France's rich cuisine, the French are decidedly slimmer than Americans. Only 7% of French people are obese, compared with 30% of Americans. A group of scientists set out to investigate this phenomenon -- comparing French and American foods, restaurants, cookbook recipes, even eating styles. The French secrets to staying slim provide lessons to Americans on losing weight.
--Sizing Things Up:
Researchers weighed portions at 11 similar eateries in Paris and Philadelphia -- fast-food outlets, pizzerias, ice cream parlors, and ethnic restaurants. The average portion size in Paris was 25% smaller than in Philly. Chinese restaurants in Philly served meals that were 72% bigger than Parisian Chinese restaurants.
--They looked at foods sold in supermarkets:
A candy bar in Philadelphia was 41% larger than the same candy bar sold in Paris. A soft drink was 52% larger, and a hot dog was 63% larger. A carton of yogurt was 82% larger.
--Even American cookbook recipes -- from The Joy of Cooking -- produced larger portions than the French cookbook, Je sais cuisiner. Larger meat and soup portions, and smaller vegetable portions, were in the American cookbook than the French.
--Also, Parisians spent 22 minutes on average dining at their McDonald's, compared with the 14 minutes that Philadelphians spent on their burgers, fries, and soft drinks.
--"The results suggest ... that if served somewhat less than they would normally eat, people may be satisfied," reports lead researcher Paul Rozin, PhD, a psychologist with the University of Pennsylvania. His study appears in the September issue of the journal Psychological Science.
--Savor, Don't Stuff:
Indeed, it's a cultural issue. Americans are getting exactly what they want -- value for their dollar, regardless of taste, says Sheah Rarback, RD, nutritionist and professor at the University of Miami School of Medicine. They'll never lose weight that way. The portions that are served in France -- people in this country wouldn't buy them," she tells WebMD. "People here wouldn't be satisfied." It's time either to start cooking more at home, or at least eat smaller portions when dining out, Rarback says. "We need to get back to savoring the food we're eating, demanding foods that are flavorful. We need to enjoy the food and the company, instead of just wolfing the food down and barely even noticing the taste."
--One suggestion: Ask for a take-out box when your meal arrives. Put half the dinner away immediately, even before your fork hits the plate. You can lose weight, one meal at a time.

The most amazing thing to me is how much smaller the portions really are over there. This has made me think about shrinking my meals a bit. And just think how it would help our country's problem with obesity if everyone followed the French.

-LINDS

[Joyful-Eyes]

Thanks for the article Linds...
I think the article makes good points,
especially the part about eating slower...

[shewolf]

I did notice a difference in portion size between Australia and the States... the US has better value for money IMO but I could never eat as much as what was put in front of me.

[Oatmeal]

I already see the ads:

Sixty million skinny French can't be wrong! Lose weight with the revolutionary French Diet!

Eat what you want, when you want, where you want, with whom you want and as expensive as you want! Smoke all you want! Drink all you want! Eat cheese! Eat meat! You even get to eat a whole 3 ft. baguette every day! You will actually spend more time eating than now!

We guarantee you that if you don't start to lose weight within 30 days on the new revolutionary French Diet, you will get a lifetime supply of our brand new product, the Emulation Camembert.

But wait - there is more! If you call within the next 5 minutes, you will receive the collected works of Jacques Petit, as a free present!!

Call now!

;) :rolleyes:

[VegAnna]

Oh my god, Oatmeal you just made me fall off the chair with tears in my eyes I was laughing so hard. :lol:

[Rie]

The french eat many healthy plant oils, which are often thought to help as well.

[Lothar M Kirsch]

But I read this article:
Thursday June 19, 2003 91:30 PM Eastern Time

This Europe: French Obesity Grows with New Fondness for Fast And Fatty Food




THE FRENCH are getting fatter. So is the rest of the developed (or in this case over-developed) world. The difference is that, until 10 years ago, France's relatively healthy eating habits made them much less prone to obesity than other Western countries.

A study this week confirms the findings of two previous reports that suggest this is another exception francaise being eroded by cultural influences from abroad.

The average French adult has gained two pounds or so in the past three years and almost four pounds since 1997, an obesity survey by the Sofres opinion polling organisation shows.

That may not sound disastrous but the survey reckons there are now 5,300,000 obese people in France, almost one in 10 of the population. If the trend continues, one in five people will be obese by the year 2020, a proportion similar to that forecast in the United States.

The influence of fast food, not just its contents but its tendency to dissolve traditional mealtimes and encourage constant snacking, is blamed for the change in the shape of French people. Among Europeans, French adults are still comparatively light but they are gaining rapidly on the Swedes, Germans and British, the European Union's heavyweight nations.

Although the love of McDonald's is mostly a lower-class phenomenon in France, the survey found little class distinction in the nation's weight problem. Executives are expanding as rapidly as blue-collar workers.

A survey of French health two years ago also warned that traditional French eating and drinking habits were changing, especially among the young, and in the south of the country where the diet had been the most healthy.

Fast, fatty convenience foods have replaced balanced meals and vegetables in many households. Wine and mineral water have been supplanted by beer and sugary soft drinks.

Last year, the education and health ministries sent out a joint circular, asking schools to replace drink-vending machines with traditional water fountains. Professor Arnaud Basdevant, a nutritionist who led the new Sofres investigation, cites the increasingly sedentary lifestyles of young and old. He called for more sports grounds so "children can go and get exercise instead of snacking in front of the television". He said two in three French men over 45 were overweight, making them more vulnerable to cardiovascular problems, hypertension and diabetes.

[1vegan]

I already see the ads:

Sixty million skinny French can't be wrong! Lose weight with the revolutionary French Diet!



The Freedom diet, or are we beyond that stage ? ;)

[Rie]

But I read this article:
Thursday June 19, 2003 91:30 PM Eastern Time

This Europe: French Obesity Grows with New Fondness for Fast And Fatty Food




THE FRENCH are getting fatter. So is the rest of the developed (or in this case over-developed) world. The difference is that, until 10 years ago, France's relatively healthy eating habits made them much less prone to obesity than other Western countries.

A study this week confirms the findings of two previous reports that suggest this is another exception francaise being eroded by cultural influences from abroad.

The average French adult has gained two pounds or so in the past three years and almost four pounds since 1997, an obesity survey by the Sofres opinion polling organisation shows.

That may not sound disastrous but the survey reckons there are now 5,300,000 obese people in France, almost one in 10 of the population. If the trend continues, one in five people will be obese by the year 2020, a proportion similar to that forecast in the United States.

The influence of fast food, not just its contents but its tendency to dissolve traditional mealtimes and encourage constant snacking, is blamed for the change in the shape of French people. Among Europeans, French adults are still comparatively light but they are gaining rapidly on the Swedes, Germans and British, the European Union's heavyweight nations.

Although the love of McDonald's is mostly a lower-class phenomenon in France, the survey found little class distinction in the nation's weight problem. Executives are expanding as rapidly as blue-collar workers.

A survey of French health two years ago also warned that traditional French eating and drinking habits were changing, especially among the young, and in the south of the country where the diet had been the most healthy.

Fast, fatty convenience foods have replaced balanced meals and vegetables in many households. Wine and mineral water have been supplanted by beer and sugary soft drinks.

Last year, the education and health ministries sent out a joint circular, asking schools to replace drink-vending machines with traditional water fountains. Professor Arnaud Basdevant, a nutritionist who led the new Sofres investigation, cites the increasingly sedentary lifestyles of young and old. He called for more sports grounds so "children can go and get exercise instead of snacking in front of the television". He said two in three French men over 45 were overweight, making them more vulnerable to cardiovascular problems, hypertension and diabetes.





That's true, there's a small article in the latest issue of Vegetarian Times about this as well.

[Cissy]

The Freedom diet, or are we beyond that stage ? ;)

I had *way* too much fun with that, considering I'm in the Freedom Club, and I couldn't wait for the rest of the members to get back from Freedom.

I read an article about that in a magazine or something once...

[Azalea]

*lol* Cissy.

So that makes me half Free ..?

[mushroom]

I like big portions :(

[grain_girl]

Me too, Mushroom. :(

Though, we could always try eating slower. :)

[Coney]

We should eat slower. It takes 20 minutes for your brain to know you're full. If you slow down, you won't stuff yourself like Americans are very well trained to do.

Everyone likes big portions, Mushroom, but it's hard on your system to be a glutton.

It's hard when you're screamin' hungry, cause you just wanna gorge until the hunger goes away, but what's best is to have a tiny bit of something before your meal (an appetizer) and that way, by the time you actually eat the rest of your food, you're not starving and won't scarf your food down like an animal. Your stomach is as big as your fist, so when you're looking at your plate of food, ask yourself if you could put all that food into an area the size of your fist.

-More for less.
-Get a good deal.
-Biggest burger on the planet.
-The Gutbuster 20oz. steak. If you can't finish it, you're not a man.

We've been bombarded with this stuff our whole lives. Minimize, man! Slow down, take your time.