Telegraph.co.uk: France targets 'le snack' in obesity battle - by Peter Allen

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France targets 'le snack' in obesity battle - by Peter Allen

Even in a country renowned for its exquisite food and adhesion to regular meal times, there has been no escape from "le snacking" and the rise of obesity. The French are now consuming so much fat, salt and sugar that all advertisements for products considered unhealthy will, from today, be accompanied by health warnings. They will accompany publicity in newspapers and magazines, on television and radio and online. The health ministry, which designed the measure, says it will help children "guide themselves" towards making better "eating decisions".

"We want people – and particularly young people – to cut back on the snacking and get back to healthy habits," a spokesman said. Advertisers who refuse to run the messages will be fined 1.5 per cent of the cost of the advertisement, to be paid to the National Institute for Health Education. They will have a choice of four officious sounding but simple warnings, which Xavier Bertrand, the health minister, said would be regularly updated to keep them effective. They include: "For your health, eat at least five fruits and vegetables a day" and "For your health, undertake regular physical activity."

The advice flies in the face of the image of the svelte and cuisine-conscious French, perpetuated by books like Mireille Guiliano's best seller French Women Don't Get Fat. The book argues that the French can eat croissants and foie gras without ballooning because they savour flavours and do not eat huge portions.
But growing numbers of processed snacks and ready-made meals with high fat, salt and sugar contents are changing that image. According to government figures, 5.9 million of France's 63.4 million people are obese and 20 million are overweight.

The news of a fat France may offer some comfort to Britain, which has long been top of the European tables for unhealthy eating and obesity. Jacques Chirac, the French president, caused a storm in 2005 when he suggested to Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, and Gerhard Schröder, the then German chancellor, that the only food worse than Britain's was to be found in Finland. "You can't trust people who cook as badly as that. After Finland, it's the country with the worst food," he said.