The French have long had a passionate love affair with food - there's a cheese for every day of the year and president Nicolas Sarkozy is attempting to get la cuisine francaise on Unesco's World Heritage list, alongside the Taj Mahal and Great Barrier Reef.
But after years of managing to eat rich food yet stay famously slim, the affair, it seems, has turned bad and the country's waistbands are expanding along with the rest of Western Europe.
Politicians and the public alike are particularly shocked at rising levels of childhood obesity. In 2000 it was estimated that 16 per cent of five- to 12 year-olds in France were obese, compared with just five per cent in 1980. These figures are pretty similar to England - where 16 per cent of children aged two- to 10 were deemed obese in 2001, according to government figures.
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here
