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Dr. Mercola
March 08 2008
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Why Don`t The French Get Fat?

French food, pastriesThe French dine on baguettes, cheese, pate and pastries, all washed down with plenty of wine -- so why don’t they seem to get fat?

This so-called “French paradox redux” that allows French people to eat all the “forbidden” foods and stay thin while Americans get fatter has been demystified by a new Cornell study.

Researchers found that while the French use internal cues -- such as no longer feeling hungry -- to stop eating, Americans use external cues -- such as whether their plate is empty, whether their beverage has run out and whether their TV program is over.

The study, which analyzed questionnaires from 133 Parisians and 145 Chicagoans, also found that the heavier a person is, the more they rely on external cues to tell them to stop eating, and the less they rely on whether they feel full.

Over time, the researchers concluded, instead of relying on external cues, using your body’s internal cues to tell you when to stop eating may improve your eating patterns.

Dr. MercolaDr. Mercola's Comments:
If only we all were born in France, we would all be blessed with the inherent ability to eat fattening foods to our heart’s content, and still stay lean and trim. I am, of course, using sarcasm. A French person has every chance to get fat as an American does (just ask any French exchange student who comes to the United States -- they probably ended up going home at least 10 pounds heavier).

What is it about the French culture that seems to favor thinness, even in the midst of all of that bread, cheese, butter, wine and heavy sauces? In a sentence: they eat real food, and they savor it.

Allow me to explain.

French People Eat REAL Food

Unlike the United States where mega-supermarkets are the norm, many people in France still shop for fresh unprocessed food every day or two. They have access to wonderful farmer’s markets, specialty food shops, and butchers that sell fresh produce, hand-made cheeses, high-quality meats, and fermented, sourdough breads. (And many of them WALK to get there.)

Whereas an American may sit down to a breakfast of a cheese omelet made with processed cheese and store-bought eggs, a similar French-made omelet would include naturally fermented cheese made from raw milk from grass-fed cows, and eggs that came from a small farm, and were not refrigerated but simply left out on the counter (which is the best way to store your eggs, assuming they are of high-quality).

Now I am not one to recommend eating cooked eggs at all, but my point is that the difference in food quality is quite extraordinary. Though Americanized junk food and fast food is slowly infiltrating France, it is still not the norm, at least for the older generations. The majority of their food comes fresh, without preservatives and food colorings, and without synthetic ingredients. And did I mention the butter? French people eat this regularly, along with a host of other full-fat foods. Contrast this to the United States, where many seek out fat-free or low-fat versions that are often pumped full of corn syrup or artificial sweeteners as an alternative.

These low-fat, artificially sweetened foods are a complete disaster, ruining your body’s ability to count calories or even sense when you are full. Not so with traditional French fare, that is so rich you’ll likely feel full after just a few bites.

And that is part of the secret, which contrasts quite remarkably with the United States.

My Recent Grocery Store Experience

I typically don’t go grocery shopping but my living arrangements have recently changed, and when I was in the grocery store yesterday I was behind an attractive young woman who was clearly not overweight. I just about fell over when I saw what she put on the conveyor belt: a loaf of white bread, two-pound packet of cookies, crackers, poor-quality highly processed lunch meat and processed American cheese. 

There wasn’t a shred of real food in her entire order. She probably is one of the multitude that have been successfully brainwashed by the food industry and doesn’t realize that in a few short years her choices will slowly but surely steal her health, cause her to age prematurely and join the two-thirds of the United States that is overweight. 

French Food Satisfies

A common complaint of people who come to my wellness center near Chicago is that they don’t feel satisfied after eating. Many of them are even eating what would be considered healthy foods, yet they are still not satiated.

In France, no one is leaving the table hungry. Yet they’re not leaving it feeling stuffed, either. As this Cornell study found, the French do something that I often recommend: They listen to their bodies.

When they feel full, they stop eating.

Unfortunately, in America many have lost the ability to sense when they are full. This comes from a combination of things, but a major one is leptin resistance. Leptin is a hormone that communicates to your brain, letting it know how much energy your body has stored, and whether or not it’s full. Once full, one of leptin’s functions is to reduce your appetite and induce fat burning.

Low leptin levels (leptin resistance) in your brain, however, will signal your body to keep eating and storing more fat. How do you become leptin resistant? By eating the typical American diet full of sugar, refined grains, processed foods and not a whole lot else.

In France, where they eat a minimal amount of processed and refined foods, leptin levels are probably much closer to where they need to be, lest their body’s natural ability to regulate appetite, and weight, remains intact.

French meals are also more satisfying because they are savored. It takes about 20 minutes for your food to be digested enough, and a signal sent to your brain, telling you that you are full. In France, you would still be working through your first course at this time, while in America you could easily polish off way too many calories in the 15-minute span you give yourself for lunch.

Wait: French People DO Get Fat

The obesity rate in France has doubled in recent years and has now topped off at 12 percent. In the United States, for comparison, the obesity rate is about 34 percent.

What is causing the French to get fat?

A change in their eating habits, which are increasingly departing from traditional ways and succumbing to the modern world of fast food outlets, processed convenience foods, and junk-food snacks.

And so, it seems, no one culture is immune to the temptations of junk food, fast food and processed “meals” that you can have ready in five minutes. But YOU certainly can be, and your health, and weight, will thank you for it. Here are some tips that will help:
  • Rather than depriving yourself of foods you love, find out which foods are right for your body by learning your nutritional type. Indulging in these foods will make you feel satisfied, and help you lose weight.
  •  Ditch the supermarket and, as much as possible, get your food from local farmer’s markets, food coops and specialty shops.
  • Invest some time in preparing meals for your family. Food made from scratch is always better for your health and your waistline than processed versions.
  • Eat slowly. Enjoy your food and mealtime with your family, savor every bite of nourishing food you put in your mouth, and if possible, never eat on the run.
  • Remove the unconscious blocks that might be causing your urges to eat junk food.
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Community Comments ( 102 )
 Comment on this Article
  
  
chou a la creme
 [ Joined on 03/08 ] [ Posted on March 3, 2008 ]
30 Points        
   
 
Novice User

there are a few reasons French people are not fat:

In France, food is expensive, and people buy in small amounts.

They take their time to eat, and they eat one course at a time.

The quality of the food is way superior to the food in North America.

The portions are smaller and they rarely refill their plate.

They look for quality and not quantity.

They rarely drink pop (soda).

They dont snack.

They walk more.

I know, I am French.

 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
LuvToSki
 		[ Joined on 02/07 ]  [ Posted on March 4, 2008]
1 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola

I read a book years ago about a family who went to France and they all lost weight by eating "whole" foods.  They did walk more and didn't eat the American junk food they had been use too.

After I read that book I started drinking whole milk again and eating real butter.  I didn't lose but I didn't gain any more weight either.  When I do leave the sweets alone I do not crave them and I also do not get hungry.  Now if I can only leave the sweets alone...

Mercola
  
aemit
 		[ Joined on 08/07 ]  [ Posted on March 4, 2008]
       
   
Novice User
  Mercola

Finally! Great to hear some inside info. Thank you!
Mercola
  
vlsisn
 		[ Joined on 02/08 ]  [ Posted on March 4, 2008]
3 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola

We spent 4 days in France (outside Paris) as part of a 2-week European vacation in September.  While I was gone, I decided to "throw my diet to the wind" and allow myself to taste all of the flavors of Europe - although I did bring my protein shakes and supplements that I take daily with me and continued to take them, but meals we either ate in local restaurants (purposely avoided any American-imported chains) or we walked to shops near our hotels and purchased local food to prepare in our hotel room.  I normally eat high protein, low "white carbs", full fat type meals; I ate more "white carbs" during this trip than I'd had in years, but they were all fresh and local; no "wonder bread" or anything like unto it.  At the end of the two weeks when I got home, I'd lost 10 pounds.  Hmmmm . . . Vicki
Mercola
  
LadyPam
 		[ Joined on 02/08 ]  [ Posted on March 4, 2008]
8 Points        
   
Apprentice User
  Mercola

England is the most Americanised country in Europe.  A few years ago, a camera crew went out to a French market and showed French housewives some of the most popular tomatoes sold in English supermarkets: perfectly formed, flawless and articifially ripened. They sliced some up and let the ladies try them; they all exclaimed that they were awful, tasted of nothing, etc.  When asked what kind they buy, they showed us ugly, nobbly, blemished, irregular-looking things but I did notice that they were not ripe; they were more than half green.  Still better than our rubbery fake ones, though. Since then, even Tesco has a lot of vine-ripened tomatoes on offer these days but they still don't taste anything like the ones I grow myself.

Another thing I noticed when eating at home with French people is that they serve green salad as a seperate course, after the main (meat) one. May not be throughout France, though?

However, I was a bit surprised when my Francophile husband took me to some of his favourite restaurants in France: they served the identical haricots verts (like string beans but smaller) everywhere we went. Obviously tinned and a suspiciously bright, unnatural green, they were terrible. I never saw anything like that in a French home. (Hubby said it was my fault 'cause I was English, and a 'Francophobe' LOL.)
Mercola
  
SignificantHealing.com
 		[ Joined on 03/07 ]  [ Posted on March 4, 2008]
7 Points        
   
Apprentice User
  Mercola

The quality of food is considered. JUST FOOD .... not chemicals.

They walk more. Stimulates metabolism, massages organs.

They rarely drink soda pop. Nothing but sugar and chemicals!!

The information is available as to why so many industrialized countries have obesity in epidemic rates. The refined sugar and chemicals screw up the endocrine system. Just the way the FOOD MANUFACTURES want, to stimulate your appetite, to make you crave the foods they sell, to make you fat and want even more. Follow the trail .. as usual, it is all about money. Who cares if our children are getting so fat that they have adult diseases? As long as the food industry is getting richer.

Dr. Simeon's ... an italian doctor, wrote to protocol and used it with his elite patients for 50 years before he died. I have done the protocol, to correct the hypothalmus, release the fat and toxins and eliminate chemicals and excess sugar from the diet. I eat plenty of fat, dairy, meat, vegtables, fruits and a few breads. All unrefined and organic. I lost the weight, I have kept it off without effort. Anyone can.

http://www.weightlosscureonline.com/ is an ebook that explains, and www.hcgdiet.com is a medical practice that administers. If you are overweight, I encourage you to take a look for yourself.

To HEALTH AND FREEDOM!

Mercola
  
misslizzy
 		[ Joined on 01/08 ]  [ Posted on March 4, 2008]
       
   
Novice User
  Mercola

Much of this about the French is true however on my many stays in france since childhood, I've been shocked at how many young french women (young teenagers even) who are on very restrictive diets. Older people do tend eat as the article suggests. As a girl, I was consistently unable to put away the same amount of food as my french hosts. The one thing that really came as a shock to me as a young Irish girl was that they treat potatoes as just another vegetable and don't eat them with every meal.

They are far more into their digestive health than certainly we are in Ireland. Enemas and the like seem to be treated as "cure alls". They appear to balance all the white bread with plenty of coffee And, don't be fooled, they love their coca cola and orangina and the children love those sugary syrups that you dilute with water.

Their bread and pastries are divine, though and they really are proud of their food! Can't wait to go back there again soon.
Mercola
  
Biggs
 		[ Joined on 05/07 ]  [ Posted on March 4, 2008]
       
   
Apprentice User
  Mercola

don't forget the butter, plus partially hydrogenate poison is not in france or for that matter most european countries!  I noticed this lack of obesity when I went to Canada a few months ago...Hello US FDA & People (you will make the difference...don't buy the p[oisonous crap)...get the hint?
Mercola
  
LadyPam
 		[ Joined on 02/08 ]  [ Posted on March 5, 2008]
12 Points        
   
Apprentice User
  Mercola

Again with the negative points! For reporting that French housewives didn't think much of tasteless GM tomatoes?? I wish the negative zappers would say what exactly is wrong with what I said.

Biggs, you are so right: don't BUY the poisonous rubbish! There is tremendous variety available in America, and England, including the good quality foods similar to what the French eat, even if it might not be as fresh.

But you are wrong about one thing: there is plenty of hydrogenated, processed and sugar/chemical laden 'food' in the shops all over Europe. The French just don't buy so much of it (yet) and other European countries do so in varying degrees. In England we buy more of it than the others do and we have the highest obesity and heart disease rates. Not in the same league as the USA but we're getting there.

Don't buy it! Vote with your wallet! And talk to at least one non-believer a week, one person you see with a shopping cart full of Coke, chips, etc. Risk being laughed at and told to mind your own business.

  
  
foxtroter
 [ Joined on 09/06 ] [ Posted on February 18, 2008 ]
21 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
External cues would not account for the large people who clean their plate 3-4 times at an all-you-can eat buffet.  You would think that cleaning it once would be enough of an external cue.

Low fat diets are just as good an explanation for over eating.  Consumption of fat is a faster cue to the body that it is "full".

Eating slowly will allow the brain to get the cues that it is full.  Eating fast with high carb diet is a double whammy for gaining weight.

Another dumb study. 
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
CogSciResearcher
 		[ Joined on 08/07 ]  [ Posted on February 19, 2008]
5 Points        
   
Apprentice User
  Mercola
Agreed. It must also be the food that they *are* eating: olives, olive oil, etc. If I have understood the articles I've read recently, these contain "good fats" that actually help regulate the way fat is used and distributed in the body, and aid in maintaining healthy/normal body weights...
Mercola
  
DRK
 		[ Joined on 07/07 ]  [ Posted on February 19, 2008]
11 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola
What good is this study without also finding out what kind of food they're eating?  Maybe if you are not getting enough nutrition from your food (because most of the nutrients have been "refined" out of it) your body is always hungry and there are little/no internal clues to stop eating.
Mercola
  
Russ Bianchi
 		[ Joined on 09/06 ]  [ Posted on February 19, 2008]
7 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola
Hence, the SLOW FOOD MOVEMENT is good for you.
Mercola
  
EQ
 		[ Joined on 03/07 ]  [ Posted on February 19, 2008]