Why French Women Don't Get Fat

It must be because they smoke, walk their dogs at all hours, eat rare biftek with salade instead of frites, and actually heed the advice that accompanies every food and drink ad in France: don't snack between meals; it's dangerous to eat too much fat, salt, and sugar; regular exercise leads to better health.

Obviously they don't have the same diet as a certain American tourist, who drinks two large hot chocolates in a day, one with a Gibraltar-sized hunk of whipped cream, the other so thick (à l'ancienne) that the spoon stands straight up in the cup. They don't eat huge buttery croissants every day for breakfast or order giant chicken-tomato-mayo sandwiches on a freshly baked sesame seed baguette for lunch. They couldn't possibly have three flavors of gelato for a mid-afternoon snack, accompanied by dark-chocolate truffles or mouth-watering macaroons. And I'm certain that they don't have eggplant caviar and fresh goat cheese on crackers along with their late-afternoon kir. Their dinners must not feature homemade fettucine with garlic and cream sauce followed by giant hot-fudge sundaes.

Or maybe they do eat the same food as a blimped-out American tourist but share half of it with their dogs. Come to think of it, we do see lots of plump little chiens in our neighborhood.