I live in France, you know the country where "women don't get fat?"
A recent survey showed that french women have the lowest BMI (body mass index) of all European countries. The average BMI is around 23 . In the UK it's 26. You are considered overweight (medically speaking) when it's over 25 and underweight when it's below 18.5.
The survey also showed that French women feel fat even with a low BMI. It appears that a lot of French girls with a BMI under 19, don't feel skinny or even thin!
Only 5 out of 10 women with a BMI of 18.5, consider themselves thin. Pretty scary right? It's even worse in Paris. In Paris, there are a lot of very thin girls, much more than in other French cities.
I'm 5'3 and around 117lbs. I don't think I'm fat but I've gained exactly 15 pounds this year so I'm not considered thin here. My mom and grandmother think I should lose weight. I'm beginning to feel pressure theses days to lose weight.
This is completely crazy. My BMI is only 20! French women don't get fat, not because of a miracle "simple" healthy diet but because the pressure is so high, it becomes a part of ourselves. We are not on a "diet", it's second nature. Don't be fooled by all those myths. Do you ever feel pressure to lose weight? Are you surprised to hear that French women are skinny because of pressure rather than their diet?
Comments (199)
I think most women in the world are thin as a consequence of pressure rather than diet.
I'm actually not surprised. I'm strangely relieved. I think it's my jealousy talking. Poor girls! I feel terrible now. D:
I am French, and can confirm that there is a great pressure to be thin. And when you are too thin on an health erspective, some people are telling you to loose more because you're fat... (except grand mothers actually most of the time ^^).
So what's the real reason?
I don't believe that French women are thinner just because of the pressure to be thin. Women have pressure to be thin throughout the Western world. Diet must play a role... or there wouldn't be so many overweight Americans.
BMI is a lousy measure of weight and health, anyway; using that scale, some elite athletes would be considered obese.
Yep, I feel pressure to be thin. And yep, I'm surprised they're thin because of the pressure. I keep hearing it's all about the diet and life style. I guess the life style is diet your fat away.
No, I'm not surprised. You can clearly see when someone is fit because of a healthy diet, as opposed to someone who is overly skinny due to undereating.
@LadyLibellule@xanga - maybe. That's just a personnal observation. :) of course diet play a role. but the reason of this constant diet is the pressure. It's not that natural
I think it's a combination. French women's way of eating will in fact keep you thin (I'm not French but it makes perfect sense as to why it would, and i do it and it works), but I feel like they subscribe to it BECAUSE of the pressure to be thin. The book "Why French Women Don't Get Fat" and general thought about French women's eating habits make it seem like they just miraculously are carefree about food and inherently know how to eat well without thinking about it, which I don't believe.
Hmm, so there's no magic French diet plan for thinness eh? Just plain old peer pressure and starvation. Well that sounds familiar...and very American.
By the way, at 5'3 and 117 lbs you don't sound overweight to me. I'm 5'2 and 123lbs and people are constantly commenting on how "thin" I am. If you gained 15lbs without trying to your body is probably trying to tell you something.
@thats_not_my_name@xanga - thank you!!! you're the first one to tell me i'm not fat
i know it. i've gained this weight because of stress.
i'm not overweight but.... when i'm in the street or in clothes store I don't feel that thin...
i lived in Copenhagen a couple of summers ago. girls there are tall, blonde, beautiful and fair skinned. i think if i lived there longer than i did, i'd feel the 'pressure' to lose weight because of how 'perfect' everyone looked. it's a culture thing we have to remember that culture includes the types of food that one grew up eating, and also our genes.
but on the other hand, copenhagen is a walking and biking city. the city of the happy commuter. so maybe lifestyle and societal pressures has something to do with it too.
@stardust81@xanga - It's my favorite city in the world! i have some friends in christiania!
i think it's a combination of both. in america there's a huge pressure to be thin and sexy and beautiful as well, but as long as restaurants keep serving up huuuuuuuuge portions, it's not gonna be reflected in our bodies. whereas european portions in restaurants tend to be much, much smaller.
@black_lie@xanga - It's true. We have a lot of immigrants/exchange students where I live and they all gained weight as soon as they came over and started eating what we ate.
I too am french and don't feel thin but I'm happy that way.
I think that thin women are okay but if your body frame doesn't support it then you just look gross.
Most Japanese girls go on diets on average at age 12 and Japanese people eat too little as it is. Why do you think they're all so short? The eating habits of their culture already limit the amount they eat.
So maybe it's the same thing. They're all wicked skinny too.
should i be happy i'm not skinny then
My BMI is 19.3 and I still think I'm pudgy. By strict definitions I know I'm not, but it's the way I feel.
That's life.
theres pressure here in LA too.
thank you, hollywood! but no matter what, i never feel thin enough.
aww that sucks..
That must be a ridiculously high level of pressure then if it effects the whole country...
I always thought it was because some European countries resort to walking around more rather than using transportation to go to a store down the street.
But I don't think thats the only problem.
In the US nowadays, there's a general acceptance for women who are unhealthily large because these women are apparently confident enough to eat what they want, no matter how much weight they gain. As much as I'd like to high-five them for being secure with themselves, I feel like I can't because some of these women are so big that it is unhealthy.
"The body is a temple" and eating unhealthily, whether you eat too little or too much, is disgusting self-mutilation
The pressure to be thin is pretty damn high in Korea as well. Almost all of the ladies look nice...
The U.S. on the other hand, is a bit lenient.
I only feel pressure from myself. I want to lose weight so bad.