France faces up to Obesity problem

PARIS, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- France is becoming acutely aware that it, too, has an obesity problem.

In fact, it is considered such a problem that French Health Minister Xavier Bertrand has officially named obesity as one of France's "great health challenges of the 21st century."

Obesity was traditionally seen by the French as the scourge of the burger-eating Americans and the chip-loving Brits.

But, ever-fatter French children have prompted a series of warnings by ministers and campaigns by health pressure groups, the London Independent says.

France, which prides itself on healthy eating habits, remains far behind the United States and Britain in the global obesity tables. In the United States, 40 percent of people are considered clinically obese, compared to 30 percent in Britain and 11.3 percent in France.

However, the percentage of obese French adults has nearly doubled in the past 20 years.