The French Paradox: 5 reasons
- July 14, 2009 12:36 PM |
- By Kevin Yarr
by Kevin Yarr, CBCNews.ca
The French eat lots of high-fat food but remain thin - this is known as the French paradox. There are no definitive answers to this conundrum, but I just got back from France and have some observations.
First of all, I wasn't back on P.E.I. for a full day when it struck me that the paradox is not a myth. People are fatter here. Enough said on that.
It has always been my suspicion that there is no single cause for this phenomenon, that there are a number of factors at work. I'm sure this is not a definitive list, but here are my observations from two weeks of keeping my eyes open while living there.
1. The five-storey walk up. While in Paris for four days I lived in an apartment on the fifth floor with no elevator. There were lots of people living in the same neighbourhood in the same situation. This is just one aspect of a less mechanically-assisted culture. The country is not geared to the car in the same way Canada is. You have to walk a lot more.
2. The dinner plate. Last year we bought new dinner plates and the standard size has gone up to about 12 inches. Bizarrely, they barely fit in our new dishwasher. In contrast, the dinner plates at the two places where we stayed were about 8 inches across. I'll do the math for you, that's less than half the size. Can you say portion size?
3. Portion size. Speaking of which, twice we barbecued steak while we were there. The first night I bought 1.3 kg of steak and had the butcher slice it for me. He sliced it quite thinly, and the seven of us had a lot left over. The second night my brother bought 1.5 kg and asked the butcher to slice it thickly, a more North American style. There wasn't much left over.
4. Snacking. I don't remember seeing anyone in France walking down the street and eating at the same time. If the French want to eat, they sit down and make an event of it. The idea of eating at your desk while working is barbaric to them. Even stores close for a lunch break. Consequently, they do not eat non-stop.
5. Soda pop. There are pallet-loads of soda pop (literally, sitting on pallets in the aisle) in Charlottetown grocery stores right now. The soda pop section approaches the size of the entire fruit and vegetable department. Sure, you can get pop in French grocery stores, but the section doesn't take up a huge chunk of the middle of the store.
Can you think of other explanations for the French paradox?
About the Authors
- Elizabeth Bridge is a producer with CBC's Digital Archives project. She got her start in the kitchen baking brownies and making fudge but is still trying to get pastry right.
- Andrea Chiu
is an associate producer at CBC Radio Digital. Though she loves to eat, cook and discuss food,
don't ask her to bake. It never turns out well. She tweets as @TOfoodie on Twitter and organizes food and wine events in Toronto called FoodieMeet.
- Amber Hildebrandt
works for CBCNews.ca in Toronto. Growing up on a farm in Manitoba, she acquired an insatiable appetite, but it was during a stint in Japan that she developed her discerning tastebuds and foodie ways.
- Tara Kimura
is a multimedia producer for CBCNews.ca.
- Andree Lau
is a CBC web reporter in Calgary. Her journalism career includes seven years as a CBC-TV reporter. Her own blog called "are you gonna eat that?" chronicles her eating adventures (including sampling snake and camel hoof tendon).
- Jessica Wong
is a CBCNews.ca writer who loves to eat and cook, as well as discuss, read and watch programming about food, sometimes all at once.
- Kevin Yarr
, CBCNews.ca's writer in Prince Edward Island, wrote about food and beer for national and regional magazines before joining the CBC. He acquired a desire for new tastes on his first trip to Europe, and an appreciation of eating locally and in season when he finally settled down on P.E.I.
Categories
All News blogs
Most Commented
Most Recommended
Food Bytes
Most Commented
Most Recommended
Recent Entries
- Food in times of sorrow
- In spring, a doctor discovered that my grandfather had glioblastoma multiforme, the deadliest and most aggressive primary brain tumour. As he battled the tumour over the following months, it was food that connected the family and allowed him to still 'live' instead of merely survive. Later on,... Continue reading this post
- Going deep in Chicago
- No, I’m not talking the Chicago Cubs, I’m talking Pizzaria Uno, creator of the original deep dish pizza.... Continue reading this post
- Q&A with Khalil Akhtar, host of The Main Ingredient
- The Main Ingredient is one of CBC Radio's new summer programs. It's an inside look on the food we grow, buy and eat. In a Q&A, host Khalil Akhtar took the time to discuss his relationship with food and why... Continue reading this post
Comments (20)
I spent a summer working in France and my main observation was the fact they eat their largest meal at midday and had only a small meal at dinner.
I was also impressed with the quality of the food that they ate in moderate quantities. The family I lived with was of modest means but they went out of their way to get the freshest and best food they could afford and seemed to spend less on junk and useless gadgets than North Americans seem to want to spend money on.
If you look at the portion of income that Europeans spend on their food vs. Canadians it's quite a bit more.
Quality vs. Quantity.
I agree with everything you wrote in this article and would add one more item: the French tend to eat real (not processed) food. Yes, you can get it, but like soda--if it is consumed, it is consumed in much smaller quantities. It falls in line with making eating an event.
I went to Paris this past Oct & 4 observations, 1) you walked if you wanted to do anything or go anywhere; 2)food was always fresh & no processed stuff; 3) your home was tiny, so you spent the majority of your time drinking coffee at the local bistro or out in the parks enjoying the community events; 4) I really missed my car while I was in Paris. Go Calgary Sprawl!
I believe Mr Yarr has explained the phenomena.
I live on the top storey of a typical Montréal triplex, have never owned a car, walk, cycle or take public transport everywhere. I was raised by old-fashioned Europeans and cook almost all my food from scratch - certainly as much as my friends in France and Italy do. My dinner plates are an old British model (Athena) and I usually use the luncheon plates or tapas dishes when supping alone.
And yet, I always drop a good couple of kg when on a stay in Europe, though I'm certainly not dieting and probably drink more wine than at home (I don't touch fizzy soft drinks, or beer). There is more to this than your points.
By the way Ali, for shame. Calgary-style sprawl is killing the planet, and it is not very aesthetic.
very good points,
i did not expect to enjoy this article.
thank you
I have never been to Paris but my parents were from Europe. One distiction that I noticed you didn't mention(albeit alluded to) was that mealtime was just that - you didn't watch TV; read a book; or whatever. We sat at the table, had enjoyable conversations, and took our time eating. I do believe that this helps the digestion of food and also you don't eat as much.
Enjoyed your views.
Maria: Maybe there's a correlation between growth hormones used in North America and weight gain?
Linda, you may have a point, I believe the EU has very strict restrictions against use of pesticides and growth hormones in the food.
I've often speculated on the correlation between smoking and thin-ness. The French are notorious smokers; and I know people on this side of the ocean who use smoking as a weight-control technique.
Its not magic or complex at all. Eat moderate amounts of wholesome foods and exercise. Its quite simple really.
I read over your bio- you eat lcally and in season must mean you dont eat much for 8 months of the year in pei!!!
fyi, fellow islander here...
Did we not see a comment/article once about French having much fewer heart problems because they drink red wine regularly, which acts as anti-oxydant in the body? Would it not also act as a weight control practice if it is consumed with moderation. Iwould believe so.
I remember reading once too that Europeans can get a chocolate fix with a small square of high-quality chocolate... and they are rather disgusted by our habits of shovelling handfuls of M&Ms or a whole Snickers bar into our mouths... as we do.
Having been to France a few times and also spent a bit of time in Canada and the US I had come to simlar conclusions - in France (and here in London) we walk more. In France they also eat less fast or prepared food, they snack less, consume a lot less in the way of cips and soda and their portions are often smaller.
Whether that will go on in the future is another matter MacDonalds is doing just fine in France and I note that many of the portions served in UK pubs are now becoming "North American" - we are chasing you in fatness - will the French, even with their food culture, follow the same way in due course? I wonder
Thank you for this article. I would like to add a few more ideas - unprocessed and fresh food that is cooked with attention to detail tends to have more flavour and is more satisfying. My theory is you tend to eat less because your palate is satisfied. I am also not a fan of the north american dinner hour that resembles a road race from hell - nothing good ever happens with five minutes of prep time!
Thank you for this article. I would like to add a few more ideas - unprocessed and fresh food that is cooked with attention to detail tends to have more flavour and is more satisfying. My theory is you tend to eat less because your palate is satisfied. I am also not a fan of the north american dinner hour that resembles a road race from hell - nothing good ever happens with five minutes of prep time!
Having been to France recently, I agree that the French walk more and faster, and eat far less junk food, another large facter is the the French are BIG SMOKERS which diminishes appetite.
I noticed the exact same in Japan. It is clearly a society based on mass transit and walking rather than driving. I also found that the meal portions are significantly smaller in Japan. In addition, no one eats or drinks anything while walking and there are no food courts. I saw very few 'chubby' people except tourists. In fact it seemed that almost everyone was quite fit (no beer bellies).
A another observation was that although there are no street garbage bins, there is virtually no street litter. There are no cigarette butts on the ground nor any gum. I asked a native what they did with any trash and he replied that it was always taken home for disposal! Think about that you guys who routinely toss fast food bags out the car window as you drive through my neighbourhood! (There are periodic 'smoking' stations on the street where smokers congregate, madly puff away, deposit their butts in a bin and then hustle off.)
In pseudo-science, a paradox is when real-world observations do not match up with ones theory. In real science, when observations do not match the theory, then the theory is crap. The french eat more fat and less carbs, especially refined and processed carbs than in the US. Less refined sugars and less high fructose corn syrup. More real animal fats like lard, tallow, goose, duck and chicken fat. they eat real fresh foods. Made from scratch. Real food. The crap that is passed off as food in glossy printed boxes is refined and processed crap. Eat more real animal fats and you will lose weight. Try it. I've been eating mostly animal sourced foods with fresh veggies for 10 year s now. Real butter, real lard, real tallow, real chicken fat. I am at my target weight and my cholesterol and blood pressure is perfect.