I’ve had this question many times: “If wheat is a major cause for obesity, why are the enthusiastic wheat-eating French so slender?” It prompts oft-repeated claims like “French women don’t get fat.”
Well, they’re not all so slender as described. (I snapped these people photos, most of the people walking by speaking French.) I’m in Paris, spending a lot of time at the Rolland Garros tennis facilities with tens of thousands of French people at the event, as well as restaurants, subways, groceries, and streets. Overweight and obesity are everywhere. While the tennis event is international, I hear most of them speaking French and I engage with many of them, also clearly French, as I struggle with my haltingly piecemeal French.
They are not as severely overweight as people in North America and not as overweight as those in some other European countries, but there is a clear and widespread weight problem here. Sit for just one minute, and you will witness a dozen or more people just in that time walk by who have a weight problem. French authorities predict that, at the current rate of rise, the French will equal the U.S. in obesity rates by the year 2020, in just 5 years.
I’m not the first to make this observation; here is a New York Times article from 2010, for instance, citing some of the numbers: 40% of the French are overweight, 11.3% are obese, and the numbers are on the rise. French doctors have repeated expressed alarm at the growing weight trends.
I can conceive of a number of reasons why the French have a bit less of a problem with weight (though clearly not entirely spared). Among those reasons:
- Higher fat intake–Greater fat in the diet from meats, butter, and cream blunt the rise in blood sugar-it still rises substantially with grains/carbs/sugars, but just not as strikingly, provoking less insulin resistance. (I had duck for dinner at a French restaurant, for example, with a thick slab of fat left on the meat. At breakfast, thick slices of cheese were among the offerings, no low-fat options in sight.)
- Less snacking and fast food–although these are cited as becoming relics of the past, as French adopt American-style snacking and fast food. McDonald’s and KFC are common sights in Paris.
- Different strains of wheat–The role of this effect has not been formally quantified, as such distinctions among cultivars (strains) are virtually never explored scientifically (though virtually all semi-dwarf strains). It would be consistent with the common anecdotal claim that French wheat products do not provoke as much gastrointestinal distress as that consumed in North America (though a variation in perceived effect should not be construed as meaning that other effects are mitigated, as well, such as provocation of autoimmune diseases, anti-nutrient phytate effects, and blood sugar rises). France has also had to import much of its wheat from countries including Germany, the Ukraine, and Canada.
(Semidwarf wheat harvest in Avignonet-Lauragais, France; from Bloomberg Business.)
- They are more likely to smoke cigarettes–though this difference is diminishing as less and less French smoke (though they do indeed smoke more conspicuously, not having to confine their puffing to dark corners, as in the U.S.).
There are also factors such as some preservation of family communal eating (though that is eroding, particularly in urban centers) and walking.
You can often indeed pick out the North Americans and British in the crowds, as they are the most obese, but there seem to be an increasing number of French who are catching up.
(From the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD, an international collaboration for social change and policy.)
Another observation: The French seem to show more of the “skinny fat person” effect, formally labeled metabolically obese normal weight, or MONW: people who remain more or less within the “normal” range for weight but show visceral fat–reflected by protruding abdomens or “muffin tops” on the surface, along with skinny, under muscled arms, legs, and chests. This phenomenon was incredibly common: I saw it in men, women, young, old, children, made even more apparent by the French predilection for tight pants and shirts, protuberant bellies in obvious sight.
The skinny fat/MONW people are typically not captured in national weight data, as body weight and body mass index (BMI) often fall within or near the “normal” range, despite the metabolic disruptions, such as high blood sugar and insulin, high triglycerides, low HDL, excess small LDL particles, and inflammation, these people experience. Why there seems to be an excess of this less-than-overtly-obese pattern is subject to speculation: genetic variants, blunting of blood sugar/insulin by the higher fat intake, regional variation in bowel flora, etc.
All in all, the notion that French people are spared from the weight-provoking and health effects of wheat, grains, sugars, etc. is a fiction. There may be some lessons to learn in comparing how the French have lived traditionally up until the latter years of the 20th century and how their health habits have more recently been corrupted with adverse consequences more recently. But the fiction of such common “wisdoms” as “French women don’t get fat” or traditionally prepared French meringues and mousses are forms of health food need to go the same way as fictions such as “eat more healthy whole grains.”
Jeannie
May 26, 2015 at 5:52 amThank you! I’ve been saying this for years. I spend a considerable amount of time in Paris each year and have noticed the French getting fatter and fatter. Yes, there are a few that are still slender (and smoke!) but that is true here in the US as well. One of my big concerns about going grain-free is the French bread from Eric Kayser! I’m hoping by the time of my next trip (mid-October) that I’ll be so ingrained (pun not intended) in the new life style that I won’t risk eating it. A great deal of the bread there isn’t worth eating—only this one baguette.
Galina L.
May 26, 2015 at 7:56 amThere is the same picture in my native Russia, a general crowd looks thin, but there are protruding bellies, more obese people now than before, more people smoke. The major difference – since Russian people statistically don’t live long, their life-style is not as praised as the French one.
Annie
May 26, 2015 at 9:47 amI’d bet my fortune that the woman in the black t-shirt used to illustrate your point in the first photo is not French., judging by manner of dress.
Dani
May 26, 2015 at 11:25 amI agree with Annie about the lady in black not looking FR. ;-)
As for the fat people: there are definitely fewer fat people & even lesser highly obese people in Italy, France, & Switzerland, than in the US. Where I live, AL, being the worst I’ve seen in the US.
I also agree that Italians are less likely to go fast foods, because they still have at least one meal in a family setting. & it’s also true that there are fewer low/no-fat options in the supermarkets.
Another reason for the slower fattening, as I see it (from watching it in my own family, when I visit) is that the cook of that family meal often belongs to the “older generation” and is 60 & older.
Because the 40 year old generation(sons & daughters) work & they then share a dinner @ mama’s table.
The grandkids are looked after by the grandparents, less addicted to fast foods because grandma oversees the composition of the “merenda”, and grandmas don’t strike me as low fat/whole grain types. They go pasta & meat the old fashioned way.
But it is changing & it will do so faster as the parents generations become grandparents. They have been in much more contact with the US, live or in the social networks.
I’d say the new eating trends probably take old 15 /20 years later …in the GENERAL POPULATION, from the moment they start in the US.
Let me say it: this is no scientific stuff, it’s my view as a half insider… now that I’m on the outside.
Jeannie
May 26, 2015 at 1:32 pmAbsolutely not French! No scarf and flip flops?? Quel horreur! She’d lose her citizenship.
GrannyMumantoog
May 26, 2015 at 10:50 amI have two observations.
First, I spent time in Paris as a teen 50 plus years ago and don’t remember ever seeing pasta or rice on menus. Bread & potatoes definitely, but the “frites” were more likely fried in butter or lard. Also there were no fast food joints that are so prevalent today.
Second, I found it interesting on the chart where the US trend was down from the year when Dr Atkins first book was hugely popular and then went up around the time that the government guidelines came into effect! Coincidence? I think not :)
Jenny
May 26, 2015 at 11:27 amDr. Davis,
I am curious how much weight you have personally lost on Wheat Belly. After reading Wheat Belly Total Health, I don’t think of this diet as just a wheat free diet, because we aren’t just giving up bread and muffins. Rice, quinoa, buckwheat…. are also semi-evil. If I am on a Wheat Belly diet, why should I suddenly switch to eating a raw potato instead of a baked one? Baked potato has no wheat. Why limit fruit to only two servings? Because after all it’s a carb belly diet.
I’ve been on this diet for a few months and all I lost was 6 lbs. Yes, I like that I don’t have cravings for food and I feel better, but my goal is weight loss. No thyroid problems.
I have a tough time understanding how so many people lose weight on Wheat Belly. I’ve never met anyone who was able to lose weight by munching on fatty cheeses and walnuts all day…
Uncle Roscoe
May 26, 2015 at 12:46 pmRe: I’ve never met anyone who was able to lose weight by munching on fatty cheeses and walnuts all day…
The Wheat Belly diet scares the he!! out of a large portion of people on the standard western diet. They see life without carbs as a life of deprivation and starvation. So I understand why Dr. Davis parades carb-light foods in front of them. It makes Wheat Belly seem a lot less horrifying.
No, these foods are not good for people, but they’re a lot less bad than what these people are currently getting fat and sick on. Wheat Belly does not merely represent one level of eating. Graduate from “fatty cheeses and walnuts all day”, and you will see another level of health.
..
Jenny
May 26, 2015 at 2:49 pmUncle Roscoe, my point is that I haven’t lost much weight. I didn’t say that I was munching on walnuts and cheeses all day. I was reading many people’s reviews, the one’s who didn’t lose weight and they were eating those snacks in large portions, because it is allowed after all. We are being told that on this diet we do not count calories. Alright…. 6lbs in more than two months. Maybe for some folks who are on Wheat Belly just to feel good… I am happy for them. I am trying to lose some lbs here. More than 6 lbs.
Avoiding carbs doesn’t scare me. It’s that doing everything by the book and not losing weight is discouraging. Exercise is not being encouraged on this lifestyle. So, how exactly do I lose 40 lbs then?
Bob Niland
May 26, 2015 at 5:49 pmre: Exercise is not being encouraged on this lifestyle.
Not true. Exercise is encouraged, but WB is blunt about the simple fact that exercise is spectacularly inefficient for weight loss per se. It takes an enormous expenditure of effort for each calorie burned. Exercise provokes appetite. Exercise builds muscle (which is denser than fat). Exercise makes you healthier and more slender, but often no lighter.
re: So, how exactly do I lose 40 lbs then?
See the article linked in my other reply here.
Bob Niland
May 26, 2015 at 5:42 pmRe: After reading Wheat Belly Total Health, I don’t think of this diet as just a wheat free diet, …
It never was just wheat free, although, for example, the low net carb message was a bit muted in the original book, and the gut flora issue was not addressed at all until WBTH.
Re: … because we aren’t just giving up bread and muffins.
It all depends on what they’re made from. We keep muffins handy most of the time.
Re: Rice, quinoa, buckwheat…. are also semi-evil.
Net carbs, lectins, and in the case of rice, inorganic arsenic concerns.
Re: If I am on a Wheat Belly diet, why should I suddenly switch to eating a raw potato instead of a baked one? Baked potato has no wheat.
Baked is pretty high glycemic, and does nothing for gut flora. Raw is not at all glycemic and is great prebiotic fiber. They might as well be entirely distinct foods.
Re: Why limit fruit to only two servings?
Due to net carbs, in this case sugars, and fructose content needs caution. My rule for fruits is to merely keep the net carbs inside WB guidelines for the interval.
Re: Because after all it’s a carb belly diet.
It’s more than that, too. It advocates, for example, higher fat, but specific fats. It advocates low inflammatory foods, and takes a precautionary stand on GMOs and pesticide uptake. I’m expecting the Wheat Belly / Cureality advice to expand to topics well beyond diet, and the “lifestyle” focus is consistent with that likelihood.
Re: I’ve been on this diet for a few months and all I lost was 6 lbs.
If you haven’t, be sure to see:
https://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2015/05/i-lost-the-wheat-but-didnt-lose-the-weight-updated-version/
re: No thyroid problems.
If a consensus medicine MD has declared “normal” thyroid, odds are good that you are actually hypothyroid, and it does interfere with weight loss. See article here linked from my user name. Do you know your numbers for fT3, fT4, rT3 and TA? You can throw in TSH if you wish, but it can be rather vague. Ignore total T3 and FTI.
Jenny
May 26, 2015 at 8:33 pmThanks Bob. I’ll check my numbers again. But it is highly unlikely. I am in my early 30’s. Previously lost about 40 lbs on South Beach. It’s not hypothyroid, if I can lose weight on one diet, but not on Wheat Belly. Logically Wheat Belly is suppose to work, but it hasn’t yet…
Bob Niland
May 26, 2015 at 9:47 pmre: I’ll check my numbers again.
They are worth a look. It may not be thyroid, but the problem is so common, and malpractice so widespread, that it’s near the top of the list of common roadblocks.
re: Previously lost about 40 lbs on South Beach.
Did you gain it back, or are you trying to lose more? Gain-back, alas, is not uncommon for SB, which has been discussed many times on this blog. Here’s one article:
https://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2011/10/the-south-beach-diet-improved/
You can click on my username for complete SB search results on the blog.
re: … if I can lose weight on one diet, but not on Wheat Belly. Logically Wheat Belly is suppose to work, but it hasn’t yet…
… unless something has changed since that course of SB. I’m not aware of any magic that SB might have that WB does not. Work the “lost the wheat but not the weight” checklist and get back to us.
Jenny
May 27, 2015 at 12:55 pmI asked my doctor today about thyroid and she said that previous results were quite normal, but I’ll check again in a month. I was having dizzy spells and found out that I am Vitamin D and B12 deficient…Everything else is fine.
I’ve lost it on South Beach and gained it back. I am trying to lose more than 40lbs at this point.
Bob Niland
May 27, 2015 at 7:12 pmre: I asked my doctor today about thyroid and she said that previous results were quite normal …
Unless you have a rare and extraordinary doctor, a diagnosis of “normal thyroid” is close to meaningless and can easily be hypo. At least ask what tests were run and the numbers obtained. What consensus medicine thinks is normal for thyroid is NOT a healthy thyroid.
https://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2015/04/thyroid-tune-up-update1/
Jenny
May 28, 2015 at 2:37 pmMY TSH was 0.835
Martine Curtis
May 27, 2015 at 2:53 amI’ve had a Pilates teacher training centre in Paris for 15 years now and I’ve always been perplexed at why people seem to think the French are so freakin healthy and immune to obesity. No, they’re not as obese as Americans, but comme meme! when Abel James said on a recent podcast that the French just eat croissants and pain au chocolat as a rare treat I just about choked. They eat them for breakfast — everyday. The dietary paradigm will change very, very slowly here, but I’m encouraged when some of my teachers decide to follow my lead and eliminate sugar — bread is a tougher sell.
Galina L.
May 27, 2015 at 7:12 amI am sure all diet flaws and sins are less damaging when people eat infrequent meals. In US we have it all – unhealthy food + a wide-spread snacking.
Bob Niland
May 27, 2015 at 8:07 amre: I am sure all diet flaws and sins are less damaging when people eat infrequent meals. In US we have it all – unhealthy food + a wide-spread snacking.
My impression is that the jury is still out on “grazing”.
Although it has been suggested to diabetics, if one is on a full time glycemic diet there’s not much consequential difference between 3 big blood sugar spikes a day and chronic blood sugar elevation due to grazing.
On the other hand, if one is on a low-carb diet, grazing may not matter, and the impulse to graze is probably greatly reduced anyway. Meal infrequency may not show tangible benefits until the intervals begin to amount to intermittent fasting.
Those still on full-time glycemic diets, especially diets containing wheat, are setting themselves up for being continuously hungry, and this is part of what they struggle with.
Galina L.
May 27, 2015 at 8:31 amI have a friend who achieved the same benefits from two meals a day (11 am and 5 pm) as I am from a LCarbing. The main difference between us – she is a naturally thin person who started to get fatter in the middle after turning 45 years old, and she doesn’t have a strong sense of a hunger. While I absolutely couldn’t do IF before LCarbing and had to train myself to fast. I gain weight very easily.
I grew up in a fast-food-free society, and it was a norm not to snack. Actually, giving snacks to children and asking them what they want to eat was considering a serious spoiling. We were strongly encouraged to eat a bread(mostly rye one) with every meal, and fat children hardly existed. The population was thin, but not free from diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and the other Western illnesses, dental problems were wide spread and life expectancy was low, especially for man, many of whom smoked and drank. In US people are too concerned about being fat, and see a thinness as the mark of health, and it is not exactly the case.
xkale
May 27, 2015 at 8:08 amHi, I don’t know if someone can help me here this is the only place I’ve been able to comment due to technology. So I was anorexic for 5 years. I recovered before I actually died, and never want to do that again. I am now hypothyroid so ironically am now overweight – unfair… anyway I am perfectly willing to cut wheat from my diet in order to be healthy! But my trouble is I can’t leave hours and hours between eating because I end up restricting again. Is it so very bad to eat more frequently? It is difficult for me to digest big meals. I tried lchf for a month earlier this year and I was very strict but just felt worse and worse. I didn’t cut calories, I just ate 50g carbs everyday and no more, mostly sweet potato. I had to stop because I was getting really ill. Would it be ok to do a sort of inbetween? Like cut down carbs but not quite so low. Would small amounts of oat flour be out of the question? And what about honey? I know these things are high gi and all, but I seriously cannot face restricting everything again, I know it sends me back into depressive restricting habits. What I’m saying is, does it have to be all or nothing or can I compromise. I’m very good at compromising, it’s just cutting stuff out so drastically is bound to do more harm than good. TIA if anybody replies to this… awesome blog btw.
Bob Niland
May 27, 2015 at 9:12 amRe: So I was anorexic for 5 years.
I see that there is recent work suggesting a gut biome role in that disorder. See, for example:
http://www.gutmicrobiotawatch.org/en/2014/11/04/could-gut-bacteria-be-linked-to-eating-disorders/
This suggests that following the Wheat Belly Total Health program might be quite beneficial, as it emphasizes correcting gut flora.
Re: I am now hypothyroid so ironically am now overweight – unfair…
Actually, that’s apparently pretty common for hypothyroid, as is, unfortunately, consensus medical malpractice on thyroid. What has been prescribed for you?
Re: … anyway I am perfectly willing to cut wheat from my diet in order to be healthy!
This is about much more than wheat. It’s merely the place to start.
Re: But my trouble is I can’t leave hours and hours between eating because I end up restricting again. Is it so very bad to eat more frequently?
As far as I know, “grazing” is not considered to be a problem as long as daily and 6-hour interval net carb targets are met, and everything consumed is otherwise on guidelines.
Re: … tried lchf for a month earlier this year and I was very strict but just felt worse and worse.
What “hf” fats? And what were the “worse and worse” symptoms?
Re: Like cut down carbs but not quite so low.
Routinely exceeding the 50 grams net carb per day prevents you from being even a part-time fat metabolizer and is apt to keep you hungry for even more carbs.
Re: Would small amounts of oat flour be out of the question?
High gly, adverse avenin lectin and good chance of gluten contamination.
Re: And what about honey?
Unless you are personally collecting it from a wild hive, you need to assume that it’s largely just HFCS, maybe worse.
xkale
May 31, 2015 at 5:37 amThanks for your help. I will see how I go!
xkale
May 31, 2015 at 5:48 amOh and in answer I am still waiting for further blood test results to determine whether I have hashis and whether anything else is wrong with me, but my doc thinks I will need t3 or t4. I have been taking iron for months because i was low, seems to be normal now. Also take magnesium everyday (never oxide) and i have just begun taking selenium and have b complex and kelp but was cautious about those so haven’t started them yet. I already eat lots of fruit and veg and nuts, eggs, goat’s cheese. I do eat wheat bread though, so that’s gotta go obviously. Anyway thanks for your time.
Uncle Roscoe
May 27, 2015 at 10:40 amThis is what I talked about above. The thought of going full Wheat Belly scares the he!! out of many people. The key lies in not approaching it cautiously. Jump in with both feet.
Bob is right. Your 50 net carb grams per day diet told your liver to make you into a carb-adapted person. In other words your cells were still feeding on carbs and not on fat …..regardless of how much fat or protein you ingested. Carb adaptation, along with opiate ingestion, accounts for the cravings.
Cravings is a giant wall. Find the door, and everything gets better fast.
xkale
May 31, 2015 at 5:40 amI think you’re right, however I believe it is quite possible that at the time I simply didn’t have the strength in my system to burn fat, my body refused because it wasn’t ready to try and be normal yet. I have a feeling it might be different now. I will try and do it properly this time.