Fitness secrets of French women

French women don’t get fat!!! On what planet do you live? As reported by the International Herald Tribune “French doctors are perplexed by the success in the United States of the book “French Women Don’t Get Fat.” They are perplexed, because French women are getting fat. The title of the book instead should be “French Women Did Not Get Fat.” (Related: French diet)

Recently, on the Oprah Show, the author of this book discussed her findings. This nice and very skinny lady, Mireille Guiliano, is the president and CEO of the champagne maker Clicquot. As one of the readers wrote on Amazon.com, the women in this economic group are skinny in all countries, not only in France. I have been to a few fancy gatherings of upper class American women and rarely saw an extra pound of fat. It could very well be the magic of plastic surgery, but in general, the richer you are, more likely that you will be health conscious and do other things like have a personal trainer or nutritionist helping you in your goal. The way of the life the author describes in her book looks more that of the upper class French ladies rather than that of the general population.

We were surprised to hear Oprah herself discussing the obesity situation in France. It seems that her producers let Oprah down. The information that she provided on the show is not completely accurate. The obesity rate in France in 2003 was reported at 11.3% and 40% of the French population is overweight. The most alarming data is that the growth rate for obesity is 17%. At this rate, in 2020, the French will be as fat as the Americans.

The author said on the Oprah Show that, “Women in France do not go to gyms.” Oprah added in agreement, “It is difficult to find a good gym in Paris.” Well, it seems that the time has come for the young French to join the gym.

Still France is among the few European countries with relatively less obese and overweight people. France has essentially the same rate as some other countries in Northern Europe. The reason they are getting fat is that they also suffer from some of the same problems that we do: lack of time to cook and to eat right, lack of physical activity and abundance of temptations everywhere. In other words, the French are eating more, engaging in less physical activity, and eating the wrong foods. Sounds familiar?

In France, contrary to the US, the government is taking the weight issue very seriously. The parliament is taking measures to correct the situation, especially among children. We must keep an eye on what they do; perhaps we can also adopt some of their secrets in the US. Oh, and I forgot that only if the lobbyists and special interest groups in Washington, hired by the food companies, will let our government do its job – that is ensure the health of American people.

Recommended articles

Raw diets

Which diet should you pick?

Eat veggies, stay healthy, and lose weight