Why French Women Don't Get Fat

[Guest guest]

It seems so obvious to Fabienne Swanson, French-born chef and now

Crozet resident. She watched the folks in the break room at her

former job retrieving old candy bars and stale potato chips from the

vending machine.

" All the time, they're complaining they're fat, that nothing works

for them to lose weight, " she said. " I wanted to say, 'Don't you get

it?' "

Swanson was raised in Burgundy, the region where, as she says, " food

is life. " In spite of thinking about food all the time, sitting down

for two-hour meals the whole time she was growing up, and working in

Charlottesville as a chef, Swanson has never worried about her

weight.

" No one I grew up with ever did, " she said. " We all ate wonderful

food and enjoyed it. "

Swanson said that French people often put on some weight as they

age, but she's talking about 10 pounds or so — not the 30 pounds

more than the upward boundary of a healthy weight range that

signifies obesity. Statistics verify Swanson's memories: In spite of

helpings of baguettes, cheese, cream, butter and olive oil, just 10

percent of French adults are obese, compared with our 33 percent.

Those food-obsessed French also live longer, and die far less often

from coronary heart disease. It's called the French paradox in

scientific circles, and nutritional researchers have tried

frantically to unravel the secrets that come naturally to the

patrons of patisseries and boulangeries from Paris to Provence.

Flanders of Byers Street Housewares knew something was up when

yogurt-making appliances began to fly off her shelves.

" I asked a couple of questions and found out people were

reading " Why French Women Don't Get Fat " by Mireille Guilani, " she

said. " Evidently, the author said French women rely on yogurt —

without artificial ingredients and sweeteners — as a source of

protein and healthful cultures, " Flanders said.

The book has been a best-seller ever since its release this spring

because it offers an alternative to counting calories, carbs or fat

grams. It's subtitled " The Secret of Eating for Pleasure, " so the

appeal is not hard to understand.

In the book, Mme. Guiliani recounts her battle with weight as an

exchange student here, a battle that continued when she returned to

Paris to get her language degree.

A family doctor helped her realize that she'd gotten into the habit

of eating on the run, grabbing bagels and ice cream cones on her way

from home to work or back again.

Her advice, besides the homemade yogurt: walk everywhere, sit down

and eat good food with good friends, drink lots of water, little

bits of wine with meals and small bites of desserts. Make meals from

seasonal, healthy ingredients and enjoy them.

Larry Vickers' love for music and performance has taken him to

France many times, and he has a few theories about the French

paradox.

" People eat scheduled meals, and look forward to them, " he

said. " It's great to know that when 12 o'clock comes you'll be

sitting down to a meal and enjoying it for a couple of hours. " The

emphasis is on quality, not quantity, he said.

" You'll be eating such a variety of things that you'll feel

satisfied, " he said. " The wine will help you digest, and the salad

after the meal does the same. " Chances are, he said, you'll walk to

and from the meal.

" At night, it will be a smaller meal, but very flavorful and you'll

take your time with it, " he said. " You're just not going to be

eating on the run. "

Anne McGovern, an associate professor of French at Baldwin

College, said there were a couple of things she observed in

France: " First of all, there wasn't the marketing ploy of 'all you

can eat,' " she said. " That's big here. " Also, she said, it's easier

for the French — and people in other European cities — to carry out

their day-to-day business on foot. " We may walk for pleasure here,

but we usually can't go from the dentist to the post office to the

market, " she said. " The French can, and do. "

Swanson remembers that as a child, she went home from school for the

mid-day meal. " My mother made everything from scratch except for

some bakery items and she took her time with shopping and meal

preparation, " she said. There was always an appetizer, served at the

table, then meat or fish and a couple of vegetables — whatever was

in season, she remembers. Often, there was dessert, or a platter of

cheese and bread or fruit. The evening meal was much the same.

" Leftovers might be turned into an omelet, or soup, " she said. " But

we always ate butter and cheese. "

When Swanson returns to Burgundy she sees what might be called an

American paradox.

" Fast food is all over France now, " she said. " I can see in my own

extended family who is eating fast food and who is still making food

at home by how they've gained weight. "

A couple of her brothers work too far away to return home for lunch,

but they try to bring something from home, she said.

" But each time I return I see more overweight people, something I

don't remember from my childhood, " she said.

Swanson herself, a working mother of three children, isn't able to

provide the Burgundy-style lunches she had as a child. " But we

always sit down and eat together at night, " she said. " At least we

can do that. "