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Why are the French so thin?

​While in Paris to present my paper at the Eighth International Obesity Conference August 29 to September 3, 1998, I spent a lot of time walking among the crowds of people in the city. I was surprised to note that the French were all thin. The occasional overweight person I did see invariably turned out to be an older German or an American (any age). Why are the French so thin?

Reasons you might think are important, that aren't...

1. The French smoke more. 40% of their adults smoke compared to 25% of U.S. adults, but 60% of the French adults don't smoke and they are thin, too!
2. The French walk more than Americans, but they don't walk much more. And the people in Paris are thinner than the people in the countryside, although the rural folk get more exercise.

The true reasons for French thinness...