The French demographic institute, INED, released its monthly newsletter (no. 455) this week. It featured European comparisons about weight and impressions of being overweight.

thinfrenchThe data are from Eurobarometer 59.0, from 2003, but deliver confirmation of what many have long suspected: the French are thin. In fact, when comparing body mass index (which takes account of weight and height), French men and women turn out to be thinner than their European cohorts. Of all the Europeans, the French are thinnest.

The comparison among Europeans’ BMI reserves more surprises, especially for women. Countries adjacent to France, such as Spain or Belgium, have populations that look different from the French (but much like each other).

There’s a French fixation on being thin. Marketing is especially aggressive for products that target women. The products include slenderizing supplements –my favorite supposedly burns fat while you sleep– and creams that supposedly work on specific body areas. These products are sold in pharmacies and frequently back up their claims with data (much of which is based on small samples or subjective assessments, but the data are put forth all the same); there’s a real effort to present the products with seriousness. Dieting seems to be a necessary evil, but exercise receives comparatively little promotion (in other words, from my anecdotal experience, French people don’t seem to exercise solely to lead weight).