The French Won't Stop Eating
To hear that Air France is now considering charging more for obese passengers on their flights (as reported in Le Monde today) , I knew it was time to check in on the subject of obesity in France.
I had heard reports of the increasing problem last year and this article http://bit.ly/6fwgKi provides the meat behind the problem based on a study by TNS Sofres Healthcare with the Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Roche. Here are some of the facts that are concerning French politicians right now: Some 26% of French women are now considered overweight, and 15.1% are clinically obese. The average French person is packing on nearly 7 pounds a year for the past 12 years. 6.5 million French, 14.5% of the population, are now obese. And finally, it's a sociodemographic issue. The rate of obesity is higher, 22%, among those earning less than 900 euros ($1,343) a month. Among those who made more than 5,301 euros ($7,910) a month, the rate was just 6%. China and India are apparently going the same way. This is a major issue worldwide. If France is suffering so much, we now need to do something serious about it.