London: The myth that French women stay slim forever has been busted, after new figures have revealed that the blondes do get fat.
Eminent author Mireille Guilano published a bestseller diet manual in 2004, titled `French Women Don`t Get Fat`, that praised the eating habits of women who prefer to savour their food calmly and never snack between meals.
But, now a survey by TNS Sofres Healthcare and Swiss pharmaceuticals company Roche has found that 15.1 per cent of French women are classed as clinically obese and a further 26 per cent are overweight.
In fact, over the past 12 years, the average French person has put on almost 7 pounds and almost 2 inches around the waist, due in part to the change in eating habits in towns and cities and the increasing prevalence of fast food.
"Obesity rates have really risen sharply in urban areas where there`s a concentration of sedentary jobs, public transport, less need to walk and a much greater availability of food.
"We`re currently seeing in France the same levels of obesity as in the United States in the 1970s, so we`re about 40 years behind," Dr Marie-Aline Charles, who helped conduct
the survey, was quoted by `The Daily Telegraph` as saying.\
Bureau Report