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French Fat F*cks!
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French Face Obesity Fears
By Raphael Minder
The Financial Times - UK
8-11-3
PARIS -- Eric Cantona, the former Manchester United soccer star, has made himself grotesquely overweight to play the lead part in a new French film.
Although Cantona is playing a parody role in L'Outremangeur (The Excessive Eater), the film deals with an issue of growing relevance in France because obesity is rising, especially among children who prefer junk food and snacks to traditional cuisine.
About 5.3m French people are obese, according to a June survey conducted by the Sofres research agency and the national institute of medical research and financed by Roche, the pharmaceutical company.
The number of obese children has tripled in the last decade and some experts argue that, if the trend continues, 20 per cent of France's population will be obese in 2020, in line with forecasts in the US. Responding to the alarming trend, the French government plans to publish early next year a food guide for children.
At the same time, McDonald's and other promoters of American-style food have gained clout in France, despite the efforts of activists such as Jose Bove, the moustachioed farmer who became a folk hero when he led the demolition of a McDonald's restaurant four years ago.
"The French like the American model but they will never admit it," says Christian Picart, founder and chairman of Buffalo Grill, which is Europe's largest chain of steakhouses with 260 outlets in France. "The French have ideals, but their main ideal is to look after their wallet and go for the best quality at the lowest price."
Mr Picart, a straight-talking entrepreneur, says he is "very indebted to America" because he learnt his trade while working as a young man in San Francisco hotels and bars.
Last December, Buffalo Grill suffered a brutal earnings slump when it was accused of violating the "mad cow" embargo on British beef. But since then, and even though the investigation is continuing, sales have gradually recovered and Buffalo Grill has even recently been at the centre of takeover speculation.
McDonald's France, meanwhile, is the best performing European subsidiary of the US food group in terms of operating income per restaurant. McDonald's doesn't give a geographical earnings breakdown, but Denis Hennequin, chief executive of McDonald's France, is adamant France remains an engine of growth at a time when the group has cut back the pace of expansion and lowered capital spending to $1.2bn from $2bn. France will account for 10 per cent of McDonald's openings this year.
"It's not the French market which is telling us to slow down but the new group targets in terms of capital expenditure," Mr Hennequin says.
McDonald's has managed to steer clear of price wars in France thanks to its dominant position in the fast food market. But the French subsidiary has also benefited by breaking ranks with group practices to adapt to French tastes, working with companies such as Danone to include dairy products in its menus, adding seating areas to create more of a French restaurant environment and even running a media campaign stressing that overindulgence can cause obesity.
Mr Hennequin says that the mad cow scare, coupled with Jose Bove's criticism, "forced us to come out of the woods and become much more transparent".
Peter Stearns, a professor of social history at George Mason University in Virginia who has compared American and French eating habits, says: "The French have long claimed to be the thinnest people in the western world but something is changing. French eating traditions have promoted slenderness by emphasising the meal as a time of quality rather than quantity, but some elements of these traditions seem to be eroding."
Prof Stearns says rising obesity isn't unique to France and is caused by "increasing defiance of adult guidance by the young" and "the grasp of international commercial capitalism". Others see the problem as one of excessive choice.
"When I was a kid at boarding school, I ate what was placed in front of me and the same happened at home," says Jean-Pierre Poulain, a French sociologist who specialises on food. "Today, French schools have a self-service system inherited from the US, which is good because it promotes choice but bad because children simply have no idea what they should eat."
By Raphael Minder
The Financial Times - UK
8-11-3
PARIS -- Eric Cantona, the former Manchester United soccer star, has made himself grotesquely overweight to play the lead part in a new French film.
Although Cantona is playing a parody role in L'Outremangeur (The Excessive Eater), the film deals with an issue of growing relevance in France because obesity is rising, especially among children who prefer junk food and snacks to traditional cuisine.
About 5.3m French people are obese, according to a June survey conducted by the Sofres research agency and the national institute of medical research and financed by Roche, the pharmaceutical company.
The number of obese children has tripled in the last decade and some experts argue that, if the trend continues, 20 per cent of France's population will be obese in 2020, in line with forecasts in the US. Responding to the alarming trend, the French government plans to publish early next year a food guide for children.
At the same time, McDonald's and other promoters of American-style food have gained clout in France, despite the efforts of activists such as Jose Bove, the moustachioed farmer who became a folk hero when he led the demolition of a McDonald's restaurant four years ago.
"The French like the American model but they will never admit it," says Christian Picart, founder and chairman of Buffalo Grill, which is Europe's largest chain of steakhouses with 260 outlets in France. "The French have ideals, but their main ideal is to look after their wallet and go for the best quality at the lowest price."
Mr Picart, a straight-talking entrepreneur, says he is "very indebted to America" because he learnt his trade while working as a young man in San Francisco hotels and bars.
Last December, Buffalo Grill suffered a brutal earnings slump when it was accused of violating the "mad cow" embargo on British beef. But since then, and even though the investigation is continuing, sales have gradually recovered and Buffalo Grill has even recently been at the centre of takeover speculation.
McDonald's France, meanwhile, is the best performing European subsidiary of the US food group in terms of operating income per restaurant. McDonald's doesn't give a geographical earnings breakdown, but Denis Hennequin, chief executive of McDonald's France, is adamant France remains an engine of growth at a time when the group has cut back the pace of expansion and lowered capital spending to $1.2bn from $2bn. France will account for 10 per cent of McDonald's openings this year.
"It's not the French market which is telling us to slow down but the new group targets in terms of capital expenditure," Mr Hennequin says.
McDonald's has managed to steer clear of price wars in France thanks to its dominant position in the fast food market. But the French subsidiary has also benefited by breaking ranks with group practices to adapt to French tastes, working with companies such as Danone to include dairy products in its menus, adding seating areas to create more of a French restaurant environment and even running a media campaign stressing that overindulgence can cause obesity.
Mr Hennequin says that the mad cow scare, coupled with Jose Bove's criticism, "forced us to come out of the woods and become much more transparent".
Peter Stearns, a professor of social history at George Mason University in Virginia who has compared American and French eating habits, says: "The French have long claimed to be the thinnest people in the western world but something is changing. French eating traditions have promoted slenderness by emphasising the meal as a time of quality rather than quantity, but some elements of these traditions seem to be eroding."
Prof Stearns says rising obesity isn't unique to France and is caused by "increasing defiance of adult guidance by the young" and "the grasp of international commercial capitalism". Others see the problem as one of excessive choice.
"When I was a kid at boarding school, I ate what was placed in front of me and the same happened at home," says Jean-Pierre Poulain, a French sociologist who specialises on food. "Today, French schools have a self-service system inherited from the US, which is good because it promotes choice but bad because children simply have no idea what they should eat."
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DcupSheepNipples
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I predict in 20 years Sumo Wrestling will be earths number one sport!
