For many years, people have regarded French eating habits
as an enigma – a country where people can devote a lot of time of thought to
eating without gaining significant weight. However, in recent years, France has
started struggling with obesity and overweight, especially among children, much
like other western countries. The popularity of fast-food is constantly on the
rise, and child obesity has grown by 17 percent each year.
French authorities
have placed the struggle against obesity high on their priorities list, posing
limitations on advertising of snacks and banning vending machines in schools.
But it is important to note that even with child obesity on the rise, it is estimated
that the country will not reach the magnitude of the phenomenon that the United
States faces (where 65 percent of the population suffers from overweight or
obesity) before 2020.
France's recent problems of overweight and obesity are
unfortunate – but how did the country manage to largely avoid these concerns
for so long? As in other countries (we have discussed Japan in a previous
article) there is no magic at work here – it is simply a matter of tradition, teaching
the population proper eating habits, and doing so from an early age.
The best way to examine the uniqueness of child nutrition
in France is through school meals. These meals reflect the dietary expectations
from children in France, notably getting used from an early age to adult eating
habits. School meals include dishes that are common to adult meals, such as a
wide variety of vegetables (including radishes, grated carrots and others),
different kinds of fish and special cheeses. The rationale behind the
introduction of this rich variety of foods at an early age is avoiding
"boredom" of taste among children, which can lead to overeating.
France became famous for its long lunch breaks, and schools
are no exception. Lunch breaks for school children are long, allowing them to
eat at their own pace, without rushing through the meal – which is another way
of educating children to eat properly, not just in terms of what they eat but
also how they eat.
Though school meals
at French schools offer large dishes, several less nutritious ingredients are
rarely included or completely left out. Sweetened drinks are in this second
category – children in French schools drink water. This is a simple and very
useful nutritional habit that unfortunately is not taught to children in many
other western countries. Snacks are added to French school meals only once a
week, and throughout the rest of the week, the sweet desert that accompanies
the meal is fruit (again, a different kind of fruit each day).
These steps for nutritional education in France have long
been supplemented by further education on the subject by parents. While large
meals were served at schools, dinners at home were mostly modest affairs.
Children were also taught that the refrigerator is "off limits"
outside scheduled meal times.
One of the factors behind the current wave of overweight
and obesity among French children is the collapse of many traditional practices
such as family dinners and, as noted above, the wider availability of
fast-food. But even so, the basic nutritional principals that French children
are taught at their schools and homes can and should serve as an example.
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