THE FRENCH PARADOX?

by highhopes

Posted: 12 years ago 12 replies

OFF TOPIC

There has been a great deal of talk in diet circles about the French diet vs. American diet. French people seem to eat all sorts of things that are supposed to be bad for you, like butter and lots of wine. Yet they don't seem to have the problems with obesity that American people do. It`s a topic that renews itself every 7 years when someone brings new findings to the fore....are the french healthier? There are more thin people there that`s for sure, having traveled to France often in the past.

LynnM 12 years ago

I was reading a viewpoint earlier that suggests the difference lies in the way French people respect what they're eating. From babyhood they're taught to eat a variety of healthy foods and take the time to enjoy meals. They normally eat 3 meals a day and rarely snack inbetween. They tend to use fresher, more natural food too. Wine has been shown to have health benefits. As for butter - maybe using a natural fat in conjunction with healthier foods is better than, say, processed foods full of hydrogenated fat?

Here's an interesting article on how French children are taught to eat:
Why French Parents Are Superior (in One Way) - NYTimes.com
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- ThomM 12 years ago
  
  For one thing they can drink raw milk and make products like cheese and butter from it.
  Heck they even sell raw milk in vending machines there.
  Plus they are very restrictive of gmo's and like every other country in the world (except the US) have banned rBGH use in dairy cows.
  
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seasoned 12 years ago

ALSO, they probably eat fewer sandwiches.
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MoneyMagnetMagnate 12 years ago

It's all in how we exercise...:rolleyes:
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JustVisiting 12 years ago

I lived in France for a few years and here are some observations about the French diet:

- The French eat "balanced meals" by which I mean carbs, protein and fat. Even school children sit down to a 3 or 4 course lunch. They eat what is put in front of them because they often have to use the same plate for the next course!
- Meals tend to be eaten more leisurely than in US/UK
- There are far fewer Fast-food restaurants! I think this is significant because French people who frequent McD's etc are often NOTICEABLY fatter than those you see eating in regular French restaurants.
- They eat fresh, unprocessed foods.
- They eat salad or soup as a starter to a meal.

Just some observations.

Cheers

Paul
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HeySal 12 years ago

Their food is fresh. All those chemicals we are eating are killing us. Thank you for the cull, FDA.
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MoneyMagnetMagnate 12 years ago

But it clearly is a paradox - I have never understood how Americans can weigh more than the French, and other countries, when it is a simple fact that pounds weigh less than kilograms...it just doesn't make sense...:confused:

Maybe it all has to do with the American rejection of the metric system...
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JamesColin Banned 12 years ago

France simply is simply 20 years behind everything US, so don't worry it's coming, obesity in children is already coming in the news, gang wars (kalashnikov executions in Marseille) riots of ethnic communities against police, etc, etc..
Weight loss products IS a good market in France, don't believe otherwise!
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Alexa Smith Banned 12 years ago

Originally Posted by highhopes

French people seem to eat all sorts of things that are supposed to be bad for you, like butter and lots of wine.

Yes - butter was mistakenly believed for decades to be really bad for you. I'm not sure that wine was. I have medical books on the advantages of wine, and some of them aren't particularly new.

(I think France does have appreciably higher alcoholism rates than most/all other European countries, though).

Originally Posted by highhopes

Yet they don't seem to have the problems with obesity that American people do.

This is true, but their incidence of obesity is increasing. They do still have a long way to go, statistically, to catch up with the US, though.

Originally Posted by highhopes

are the french healthier?

Yes, clearly. (I don't think any epidemiologists seriously dispute that, on any monitoring parameters at all, really?).
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seasoned 12 years ago

Comparing the french to americans is kind of dumb. They are in EUROPE! Their countries are smaller, and they tend to walk more, etc... And YEAH, the bread is almost certainly better, along with food. Meals in europe probably tend to be better rounded.

There are all sorts of little differences that can end up skewing comparisons.

Obesity is not ALL OVER the US and in all cultures. Heck, some are incredibly skinny. The biggest difference is lifestyle, which affects food also. HECK, my whole life is FILLED with microcosms of that. Times wheer I lose like a pound a day and times when I even gain it quicker. It isn't wholly my fault, and I am not moving from the US, so it isn't the country. It is CIRCUMSTANCE, dictating my lifestyle.

Steve
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LarryC 12 years ago

There's a lot to be learned by studying healthier cultures. Even in the U.S., there's a growing movement towards local and organic foods. But lifestyle plays a part as well. Aside from many other factors, most Americans work too much!
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Media04 11 years ago

I pop that one up.

Our Lunch and diners are surely healthier than US or UK, less fat and more diversified, however as JamesColin said, on few things we are behind and with the crisis hitting us, more and more people are eating junk food.

I was having some time off at a lake near where I live and this area of France is known to attract good looking people (weather, money etc etc make it happen, god knows why) anyway, I was with my wife and I noticed a lot people (young people) with a lil belly growing, things that I have never noticed in the past (10 years ago).

Also, in the past, we had tradition to leave 2 hours break at lunch time even for employees and that is disapearing, more and more poeple get only a hour or less, so obviously fast food is now a must for those people, though a lot of them still have salads or really light food as they don't have time to digest
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