France’s food fightBy Derrick Z. Jackson
Globe Columnist / April 17, 2010
SEBASTIEN CZERNICHOW is a French nutrition researcher cheering on America’s flurry of federal, state, and local laws and initiatives against obesity. What some call the food police, he calls progress. The prevalence of obesity in his nation is leveling off after a decade of government interventions.
“I want to be cautious, but we’re seeing early signs that even though we’re still having a global rise in prevalence, we may have created a protective environment in France,’’ said Czernichow.
In the United States, the fattest developed nation in the world, the new national health care law calls for large restaurant chains to post calorie counts on menus and signs, similar to what Massachusetts and other states and cities have already mandated. First Lady Michelle Obama’s obesity crusade has soda companies playing defense, running ads to boast how they are removing sugary drinks from schools.
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Czernichow said he wonders if the United States will see those effects, especially after recently eating in Boston restaurants. Massachusetts is the second-least obese state in the nation, yet, Czernichow observed: “The energy density of the food in your restaurants is so high and the portion sizes are amazing, not only for fast foods, but in your healthier seafood restaurants. I ordered swordfish at one restaurant and the dinner would have fed me, my wife and my two kids.
“I had lunch in the South End. What you call appetizers, we call dinner. The salad was so high on my plate. I talked with the waiter and we laughed because I thought I was on some kind of reality show with a hidden TV camera, seeing how much I would eat.’’ Even as Czernichow laughs, it makes you question whether our patchwork of initiatives can work in the fight against fat. ..........(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/04/17/frances_food_fight/