Contrary to the impression created by Mireille Guiliano’s best-selling book French Women Don’t Get Fat, not all French people are svelte. As traditional eating habits change, waistlines are expanding here, too, and obesity is on the rise. One response to the problem is itself very French: a fat-fighting baguette. Food scientist Claude Godard of Chalon-sur-Saone, with government support, worked with the research company Eurogerm to develop the Optimatin baguette, which contains a special mix of grains and fibers designed to make people feel full longer. The new baguette comes pre-divided into six parts, three of them to be eaten with breakfast, two with lunch and one with dinner. While a bit dry, it is perfectly palatable. Dr. Godard found that many obese people who came to him for dieting advice regularly skipped breakfast, which made them more likely to overindulge later in the day. This is a man whose advice most dieters would love to hear. Just listen to him on the subject of dieting: When asked if pasta should be eaten plain or with butter, he says, “Pasta with butter is preferable, because the butter further slows the absorption of the pasta’s complex sugars and facilitates its assimilation by the organism.” That’s the kind of diet we approve of.

© 2005 Paris Update