French gear up to fight the flab

PARIS - A health problem which once dared not speak its name has risen to the top of the public agenda in France.

Obesity was traditionally seen by the French as the scourge of the burger-eating Americans and the chip-butty (hot chip sandwich) loving Brits.

Now spreading waist-lines - especially among French children - have prompted a series of warnings by ministers and health pressure groups.

Health Minister Xavier Bertrand, has named obesity one of France's "great health challenges".

An anti-obesity pressure group has produced a series of disturbing posters showing a naked and grossly overweight woman under the title: "Obesity kills. Do you still find it funny?"

France, which prides itself on its healthy eating habits, remains far behind the US and Britain in the global league tables of obesity. In America, 40 per cent of people are considered obese, compared with 30 per cent in Britain and 11.3 per cent in France.

However, the percentage of obese French adults has nearly doubled in the last 20 years and the number of overweight French children is increasing by 17 per cent a year.

At that rate, France may have as many obese citizens in 2020 as the US has today, one official report says.

Arnaud Basdevant, head nutritionist at the Hotel-Dieu hospital in Paris, blames France's increasingly sedentary lifestyle and taste for high fat and sugar foods. Although many French people still cherish freshly-made food, there is an increasing trend towards processed and "fast" food.

Another survey reported that the problem is especially acute among the badly educated and poor.

Grossly overweight people (other than tourists) are seldom seen in Paris. They are increasingly common in poor suburbs and rural areas.

In September, machines selling sweets and fizzy drinks were banned from schools. This month, paediatricians held a "weighing day" in schools to advise on good eating.

"Talking about nutrition has become politically correct. In the 1990s it was seen as a woman's issue," said Serge Hereberg, vice-president of the national nutrition programme.

The plan, launched in 2001, recommends at least five fruits and vegetables a day and daily exercise equivalent to 30 minutes of walking.

Bertrand has announced that a new nutrition strategy will be published in March, which will be aimed at those regions and social groups considered to be "at risk".

- INDEPENDENT