Blogging Paris part 2 Health and Fitness lessons good and bad from the French

Although I wrote this in Paris, I'm posting this from the USA as
I lost my high speed connection just before leaving Paris.

As I depart Paris, a few observations:

First on diet and fitness:

A. The Parisians are definitely trimmer and fitter than
Americans. I would attribute this to:

1.	A significantly less sedentary lifestyle. Parisians are out
walking all of the time and even when they take the metro, long
walks to and from the station are involved. Cars are generally
not used for commuting. Bicycles are still a popular means of
getting to work and running errands in the city, unlike the US
where bicycles are only used for recreation. 2.	Portion control.
Paris restaurants are world renowned for their culinary
excellence and rightfully so. But the portions served are
significantly smaller here in Paris than they are in the US.
Parisians eat a mixed diet and DO NOT avoid fat and refined
carbs. However, they eat significantly less at one setting than
their American counterparts. Many studies have shown that the
key factor in how much food one imbibes is how much food is
placed in front of them. Americans out eat Parisians, in part,
because American restaurants serve vastly larger portions (and
this is not good.) 3.	Parisians care a lot about how they look
both in a fitness and a fashion sense. Americans are much more
willing to accept the "overweight" look.

B.	A law to limit smoking in public spaces in France was just
abandoned in part due to opposition from the tobacco groups.
Paris has not ended its love affair with smoking and this is a
major negative health wise for the French and an inconvenience
for visitors--public places and restaurants can be a smoky
environment. It's somewhat amazing that tobacco lobby groups
still have influence here in France--compare that to their
virtual pariah status in the US legislative process.

And a final non health and fitness observation.

 As in past trips, the Parisians that I met casually, in
business, and socially were generally polite and helpful. It's a
different culture obviously and as a result of the cultural
differences, misunderstandings sometimes arise. But I think that
Americans are very welcome in France and will really enjoy their
experiences here.