Many Americans who spend a lengthy period of time in France are surprised to find that they have lost weight effortlessly while enjoying plentiful and tasty food. Contrariwise, many French friends have complained of creeping weight gain over a longish stay in the US. A recent book deals with the often-asked question of why the French are not fat. I will probably not bother to read the book, since that question was answered during my years of living (and eating) in France.
I first suspected that cigarette smoking had a lot to do with the French being so light on their feet. This theory has been challenged as fewer French people now smoke. (There are even non-smoking restaurants in France now, at long last!) The French people I meet who do not smoke seem to be as lean as those whose appetites are surpressed by constant puffing.
Another factor in gallic sveltness is the level of physical activity associated with day-to-day life. Even though the French are not necessarily more athletic than Americans, everyday routines in France tend to involve more time spent walking and moving about and less time spent sitting.
One additional reason for the relative lack of overweight French people is that self-control in all aspects of behavior is learned from an early age. French children are required to be quiet, sit still, and eat only at prescribed times. A snack is authorized at about 4:00 PM, not just whenever a child is hungry.
When invited to dine in a French household, one quickly learns to "save room." There will be more courses than one anticipates, and it would be easy to become full before the main dish arrives at the table. The self-control one learns from childhood comes in handy when one must pace oneself to get through a two-hour meal with some appetite intact.
In France they wish you "bon appetit" before a meal begins. Whereas Americans are afraid that our appetites will lead us to the demise of our figures and our health, the French celebrate the appetite both for the pleasure it brings, and for its evolutionary function--to compel us to nourish ourselves. Calories are not demonized in France, as they provide the energy we need to live life.
Another cultural difference related to the tendency toward leanness is the collective memory of hunger. In France the food shortages of wartime are remembered by all, either through direct experience or from memories shared by parents and grandparents. French people seem to have a deeper consciousness of food as nourishment. To trim the fat is a waste of its nutritive value. Fat is seen as a necessary part of the human diet, rather than a destroyer of one's silhouette. While hunger sometimes accompanies poverty in the US, our collective memory of widespread food shortages is a vague and distant one. Whereas a French person may focus on what food can do for us (i.e. giving us gustatory pleasure, a social outlet, and energy), Americans tend to obsess about what food can do to us (i.e. giving us unsightly bulges, guilt, and chronic diseases).
Different individuals have different eating habits, but there are recurring themes. French reverence for the appetite does not lead to condoning gluttony. One young woman, who was far from anorexic, explained that she never eats until her hunger is totally satiated. "Il faut rester sur sa faim." Another slender, fiftyish woman served her family and guests a typical continental breakfast and limited her own consumption to black coffee. She said that breakfast had once been her favorite meal, and that she really missed it, but that at her age, she could no longer indulge herself. The self-control of childhood seemed to be carried too far in her case, and her self-denial was inscribed in her pinched-looking face. Far preferable is the example of the actress Catherine Deneuve, who wisely chose to preserve the serene beauty of her face over the preservation of her girlhood waist measurement.
Most French people I have observed do not deprive themselves of the pleasures of the table. Fat is not seen as the enemy of health and beauty, but as an ally. The French in general do not blame food itself for making people fat. Overindulgence and inactivity make people fat--not savoring a full-fat cheese or salad greens drenched in oil.
I somehow manage to gain weight when I'm in France, but I think it has something to do with my excessive consumption of Cote d'Or chocolat aux noisettes. And stopping at patisseries twice a day. And eating full meals.
What can I say? I am a total sucker for over-indulgence. Typical American.
Great post.
Posted by: Michele | June 02, 2005 at 09:12 AM
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