Reading American Fat in France : Obesity and Food Culture

One of the least flattering images that America is now associated with in France and in other European countries is a ballooning stomach. Pictures of overweight American children and adults are regularly used in French TV news, shows and in the print media. Every campaign against obesity in the land of gourmandise cites the latest statistics on the overweight population in the United States. “Obésité: la France sur la voie des Etats-Unis,” warned Le Monde in the headline of its two-page sprea...