France sees a surprising surge in obesity

AS haute couture fashion week got under way in Paris on January 23rd, the city of light was treated to the ritual display of fabric draped over skinny frames. In France the slimline silhouette seduces consumers off the catwalk too, year round, on billboards and in advertising spots. This body ideal persists, despite the fact that even in France obesity is on the rise. Between 1997 and 2020 the share of obese French adults doubled, to 17%, or 8m people.

France’s obesity rate is still well below that in America (40%), Mexico (33%) or Britain (26%). But the trend worries French public-health officials, for reasons ranging from mental-health issues to weight-related conditions such as diabetes. The government has set up a task force on obesity, under Martine Laville, a professor of nutrition in Lyon. It will report back in March.