French children don't snack

Francl27

My children never snacked either. We taught them to stay out of the kitchen except for getting water, and to wait for meal times to eat. They never developed a snacking habit. Pretty much the exception at our house is popcorn if we rent a movie to watch. I do snack since I'm tracking calories though, because sometimes I just want somethings sweet so I'll grab a yogurt cup or fiber bar mid-day.

Sadly that's one of the reasons my kids are snacking too. I can't really snack and not let them have anything if they ask.

qtgonewild

VERY INTERESTING.

gsmithnp

While I agree that too many of the wrong sort of snacks are not good, I have to admit that I do tend to allow my kids to snack more than is probably wise/necessary. My car is full of crumbs, but they aren't allowed to eat in their rooms. They all love fruit and veggies, though, and often choose those over candy and sweets so I don't mind.

IMO, the main issue is portion sizes. Case in point: at a family get-together this past weekend, my sister in law gave my nephew a plate full of food (bratwurst on a bun, large spoonfull of potato salad, large spoonful of baked beans, and about 12 chunks of honeydew, as well as a large handful of chips). He's 7. I didn't eat that much!! My three girls put together wouldn't have eaten that much! So he proceeds to eat about two pieces of honeydew, not quite half of the brat (he took it off the bun), one bite of potato salad and a little bit of the beans. Ate all the chips of course. She proceeds to sit there and try to get him to eat the rest of his food. ALL OF IT!! He of course refused and wandered off to play with the other kids. She sat there and groused about how much food he was wasting. Well, maybe if she had given him half or a third as much as she did, it wouldn't go to waste. And she wonders why she weighs around 300 pounds.

BeachIron

In general I dislike stereotypes,like racial or national. Whole load of stereotypes and generalisation bout French women being thin and how they do it, how the children is etc... nah, I don't think we can make the generalisation, i bet there are plenty of women in france with a weight problem.

Actually no! They are few and far between. That is one of the first things that my relatives notice when they come to Canada (How heavy people here are for the most part).

According to what was posted earlier, France is on the list of most obese countries. They are less obese, in general than Canada, but it hardly means that there are no fat people in France.

msm1202

Great article and something definitely worth considering with my teens!

Mslmesq

To correct completely inaccurate information listed within this thread, here is the link to the world health organization's obesity statistics by country for anyone that is interested.

http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.A900

YaGigi

Snack foods that the French invented:

Pomme Frites or Frites (we call them French Fries for a reason, folks)
Macarons
petit fours
crepes stuffed with ice cream
ice cream (glace)
sorbet
gallettes (shortbread cookies)
Croquettes
chocolate truffles
bon bons
pain au chocolat
chocolat

and countless other things

There is a reason the Bocuse D'Or is a French award named after a French pastry chef. Those things were invented in France.

Actually, many of the snacks we love have their origins in French Cuisine. How many Patisseries are there in France anyway? Isn't there something like 2000 in Paris and surrounding area? Not to be confused with Boulangeries, which are the bakeries.

Wondering how there could be 2000 shops devoted to selling sweet snacks in a city where people don't "snack."

I must disagree.

These are not snacks, those are real food. French don't use French fries for snacking, no way, it's a side dish for meat or fish!

Macaroons are desserts, no way ever used as snacks. If you see how a Parisian woman eats a macaroon, you'd be intrigued. She bites it little by little, it might take her some time to eat the whole piece, she enjoys the moment of eating it.

And sorbet is Persian btw, was widely used in the 1001 nights

Thank you very much GoGlam.

As a French, I am kind of shocked to see that you qualified those very refined meals as..."Snacks". Pastries, like croissants, pains au chocolat are traditionnally (I mean, according to many clichés) served for breakfast, and most of French do not eat that at breakfast: good ones are expensive, and are usually considered as a treat more than a habit. And if they are industrial, they are not worth it. Macaroons are a very good illustration of what I said.
And the treats you named are actually treats, and just treats. Something unusual, exceptional, that you eat slowly, savouring every mouthful of it.
When they become snacks for one, it means one has lost contact with the culture of "eating well and treat yourself: you are what you eat!" that is indeed very, very important in France. It's very easy to eat less and better when you have this sense: you learn (in my case, I had to learn that again) to choose better your meals and potential snacks. That worked as key for me.

I did not snack when I was a child...And I don't remember my childhood was so horrible... (;

That's what I like about French people - you treat food process as lovemaking You enjoy every moment of it and "savouring every mouthful of it" Americans are more about quantity - lots of cheap food, lots of cheap clothes. French are about quality - small portions but the food is masterpiece, instead of a walkin closet full of Forever21, you get a small closet with designer pieces.

Love France!!!

Tomtomtomfitz

We had a French exchange student last summer--a delightful 15 year old who became another sibling to my 3 children. It amazed us when she first arrived how much she would eat at mealtimes--cheeseburgers, pizza, bacon & eggs, etc--and yet she was as skinny and petite as could be.

We quickly observed what this article discusses--she ate like crazy at meals, but she never ate between meals. She thought it was hilarious how often our kids ate--constantly snacking throughout the day and on the go.

I also noted in the several months she stayed with us, I only saw her drink a soda once--when we took her to a baseball game. Otherwise, it was all water, all the time--not even tea or coffee for this teen, which she regarded as strictly adult drinks.

She also rarely induldged in much in the way of sweets (despite my kids constantly trying to bring her over to the dark side...) The one thing that broke her resolve on sweets was making s'mores on a camping trip--her first time having those, and she loved them. She would ask to make s'mores for the rest of the summer!

EvgeniZyntx

Snack foods that the French invented:

Pomme Frites or Frites (we call them French Fries for a reason, folks)
Macarons
petit fours
crepes stuffed with ice cream
ice cream (glace)
sorbet
gallettes (shortbread cookies)
Croquettes
chocolate truffles
bon bons
pain au chocolat
chocolat

and countless other things

There is a reason the Bocuse D'Or is a French award named after a French pastry chef. Those things were invented in France.

Actually, many of the snacks we love have their origins in French Cuisine. How many Patisseries are there in France anyway? Isn't there something like 2000 in Paris and surrounding area? Not to be confused with Boulangeries, which are the bakeries.

Wondering how there could be 2000 shops devoted to selling sweet snacks in a city where people don't "snack."

C'est pas vrais a 100%.

Frites are Belgian
Macarons are also called Luxemburgeli and comes from the Italian macarone.
Ice cream is perhaps Persian
Sorbet is perhaps from Marco Polo or Italy
Chocolate is a Nahautl word and shows the roots from Mexico
Truffles are French but frankly the best are a la praline, Belgian

"We" French just perfected good food. :laugh:

There are frankly less extreme obese in France - but obesity is an issue as any lover of French literature, theatre and history knows...

Blazac....



Depardieu...



Gargantua ...



The French do, as a whole, eat less outside of mealtimes and very little on the run - but to each generalisation there is a counter example.... And for each boulangerie there is at least 10 square meters of markets in the city on Thursdays and Saturdays...

YaGigi

Depardieu was hot as hell when he was young!

And he was slim actually!

Leave my love Depardieu alone!

EvgeniZyntx

Depardieu was hot as hell when he was young!

And he was slim actually!

Leave my love Depardieu alone!

C'est dommage que c'est un vrais porc.

Danni3ll3

In general I dislike stereotypes,like racial or national. Whole load of stereotypes and generalisation bout French women being thin and how they do it, how the children is etc... nah, I don't think we can make the generalisation, i bet there are plenty of women in france with a weight problem.

Actually no! They are few and far between. That is one of the first things that my relatives notice when they come to Canada (How heavy people here are for the most part).

According to what was posted earlier, France is on the list of most obese countries. They are less obese, in general than Canada, but it hardly means that there are no fat people in France.

http://www.aneki.com/obesity.html?number=100

HappyStack

Can we have a consensus on how you define obese? is it just visibly obese, or do these statistics take into account BMI? actual DEXA scan results?

Personally, I think people are fat in my country because "snacks" are so calorie-laden and - in Wales in particular - there's a massive [binge] drinking problem.

I snack now. I eat a lot of fruit, quark or Greek yoghurt, honey, dried fruit, nuts, etc. My snacking options are "healthy"... the only people I ever see, in my area, snacking on fruit or a ready-made pot of "healthy" snack food are those who are already quite slim. Go figure.

joselo2

Hmmm, I hate to break it to americans who didnt know but French portions aren't 'tiny', yours are big. Seriously you here people talking A LOT in england (and i assume rest of the world) about how HUUUUUUUGE American portions are. It's a very widely held notion and i think it is based on experience.

BeachIron

In general I dislike stereotypes,like racial or national. Whole load of stereotypes and generalisation bout French women being thin and how they do it, how the children is etc... nah, I don't think we can make the generalisation, i bet there are plenty of women in france with a weight problem.

Actually no! They are few and far between. That is one of the first things that my relatives notice when they come to Canada (How heavy people here are for the most part).

http://www.aneki.com/obesity.html?number=100

According to what was posted earlier, France is on the list of most obese countries. They are less obese, in general than Canada, but it hardly means that there are no fat people in France.

That one puts France at number 24 for the over 15 y.o. population. The earlier one was for children. In any event, the point still stands. Switzerland, Japan, Italy and Austria each do better than France on that list.

Mslmesq

Can we have a consensus on how you define obese? is it just visibly obese, or do these statistics take into account BMI?

Of course. I am using the US and WHO standards of bmi greater than 30. Also, the who I believe has the latest statistics of all countries in the world, as opposed to lists that are only using some industrialized countries, but seem to be referred to in this thread as if they are taking into account all countries....which of course they are not.

Also, there are no 'most obese' countries, except how you define it. There are simply statistics given for each country. France is lower statistically per the who than many other countries, both industrialized and non industrialized, including lower than Italy and Austria (as incorrectly stated within this thread). They are not, however, without obesity, nor overweight individuals within their country. I know of no country that has a 0% obesity rate.

In any case, this topic never had to do with obesity rates, but snacking. So, back on topic....

I find it interesting how many europeans (and french of course) have commented within this thread on the accuracy of the article. Interesting. Of course, there does seem to be some saying they have found many exceptions. Interesting the exceptions appear to involve the younger generations. A change in times perhaps? I wonder how far France will go with its legislation (requiring warnings on packages that 'snacks are not advised for healthful eating')?

ldrosophila

Drink booze and have regular meals love it!

Mslmesq

Drink booze and have regular meals love it!

Lol, don't forget with bread, butter, cream, and cheese! :bigsmile:

tigerblue

No snacking? What do you call that 3rd meal before dinner? That sounds like my afternoon :"snack". In fact that is basically our food schedule--Breakfast, Lunch, something after school/before afternoon practice, and then dinner between 7 and 8. I think the idea is that we should consider the afternoon meal (snack--or whatever you want to call it) a meal for a small portion of good healthy food like fruit, or maybe cheese, etcl

So I would say the French are snacking, they are just making healthier choices and calling it a meal!

The English call it "tea time""

I call it a snack.

The French have a word for it, as te op indicated.

Lets not argue over semantics!

holliebevineau

No snacking? I don't know if I can just do three meals no snacks. I am going to see if I can starting tomorrow. Who is with me?

cityjaneLondon

I have been calling my afternoon snack 'le gouter' for years. It means to taste. It is desperately needed IMO. I allow 200 calories. In the old days the French children traditionally had a sort of baguette chocolate sandwich. That would take me over! I'm sure these days it's fruit or a yoghourt. I often have Ryvita with PB2, or allow myself a much desired piece of cheese. Or a wrap with light Philly. Yum! I wouldn't get through without it as I go very hypo.

AnexRavensong

Sorry I live in France and this is completely UNTRUE. They have a snack every day! They even have a name for it!

It is called their "4pm" or "Le goûter" because this is the day all French children typically have a snack. It usually is anywhere from "petit pain" which is a chocolate crissoant type pastry to yogurt and things like that. Even the adults still tend to have one. It even has a wiki entry!

Le goûter

"l était traditionnellement constitué d'une tartine de pain avec du beurre et de la confiture ou avec un morceau de chocolat, ou bien encore d'un pain au chocolat il y a cinquante ans. Aujourd'hui les enfants prennent des gâteaux. "

It traditionally consisted of a bread with butter and jam or with a piece of chocolate, or even more chocolate bread 50 years ago. Today kids have cookies/cakes.

Yeah sounds real healthy. /sarcasm
I live in France and some of it may be healthier.. but I find that actually the truth is there is so little choice unlike in the US that food actually becomes boring and that makes eating less interesting.