Basically less sugar, less salt, less saturated fat, less atificial colours, less artificial flavourings, less alchohol. I wouldn't say British people see eating a chore - far from it, a lot love there food, maybe too much!

I think most British people (probably no-one on this website either for that matter) need to first get the idea of eating less, then make their diet better regardless of what it was before. Most diets are healthy as long as they contain real foods!

From my experience (used to work in the food idustry) portion sizes in this country are somewhere between european and american and certainly bigger than what you get in the far east, and low and behold there is a direct corelation between the general size of the population and the size of the portions eaten.

There is also a lot more marketing of in-between dinner snack food in the UK compared to other european countries which doesn't help either.

This country is full of fat twunts, not all are 'gland' problems either, next time you are out in your local High Street have a look about at the size of the general population, what they buy in the shops, what they eat walking about, their fat kids etc YUK!!!!

also...don't really agree with the white bread thing....the french eat loads of white bread....due to the fact that they were encouraged to support their local bakers during tough times.....

but....slower food i definately agree with....local produce, sitting down with family to eat meals rather than on the run....the whole attitude to food and drink is different.

As dear old Dad use to say, "just because you bend your elbow doesn't mean you need to open your mouth."

not too happy about the old sausage and egg roll being tarred with the 'bad' bruch - surely the food of champions?

at least black pudding escapes any criticism...

i actually think portion sizes are mostly to blame - long gone are the days of 'everthing in moderation'. a portion of meat we should eat each day (or, ideally, less frequently) is the size of a pack of playing cards - how many people would look at that as being stingy if served with that in a cafe or restaurant?

What about the humble onion?

They're always carrying them around their necks while cycling, those crazy French.

"not too happy about the old sausage and egg roll being tarred with the 'bad' bruch - surely the food of champions"

Yeah the egg & sausage shouldn't be on the list - especially the eggs - they're probably one of the most basic healthy foods yoy can eat!

Sausage is mostly ground junky bits of pig and cow, not the lean cuts, and since pork is the hardest meat to digest it's definitely not a good idea just before or during exercise.

You can see what the population of this country eats most by studying the supermarket aisles, dominated by highly processed meat-based dishes, dairy, bread & pastry and puddings. Look at the trollies, loaded with packaged, processed cr@p and crates of beer.

Eating out features the same fat-laden 'treats' while takeaways proudly sell deep-fried food lacking nutrients and high in saturated fat, with the worst quality supposed 'meat' you can imagine with not a vegetable in sight (if you don't count mushy peas).

The well-worn phrase "you are what you eat" is the indicator. However, "A little of what you fancy does you good" is fine, as total abstinence in the face of temptation isn't good for anyone.

Someone really needs to moderate some of these comments on here, funny as they are :)

The one truth the article hits on is a different attitude toward meals. In France and other EU countries a meal is a social event which often takes place over a period of hours so because there's more time and effort involved there is generally more focus on quality food stuffs. Plus there's the idea in France of going out every day getting fresh produce from your local patisserie, boulangerie etc...which just doesn't happen over here with the almighty supermarkets now conquering all.

There is too much of a trend in the UK for convenience food so it's little wonder 24% of the population are obese.

As a brit living in France for a few years - it is very annoying to see this skinny lot quaffing wine, eating cheese , processed floury white bread and not putting anything on!

However - the article is right - they control the quantities, and we can always notice if we have an evening with french friends verus brits - by the number of empty bottles at the end of the evening.

Things are changing for the worse though, with more of the "ados" seeming to prefer MacDo's (giving you some French expressions here - I think you can guess what they mean) - to good old home cuisine.

Plus the number of larger children while not in the american level is increasing.

Also I live in the east near Strasbourg so a bit more germanic , and quantities are larger than say around Paris - and the people are a little more rotund as a consequence.

But the main reason the french are skinnier are they don't have the temptation of a pint of bitter and pork scratchings.

I disagree with the main argument of this article. first of all I don't think there are any major differences in most european countries' diets. I'm sure the British have French and Italian cookery books and i know they have plenty of French and Italian (i.e. Mediterranean) restaurants. So what you eat is a matter of personal choice.

Secondly, it is a known fact that the mediterraenean diet suffers from too much bread and we know that eating too much simple carbs leads to fat around your tummy.

the article failed to mention several French calorie bombs: foie and mayonaise are full of saturated fats. and what about French fries!

What I do notice is that the British tourists we get over here (in Malta) tend to drink much more beer than we do, and they keep drinking until they're knocked off their socks. That's a personal choice. I think the brits problem is alcohol consumption.

I eat eggs and sausage for breakfast and nothing beats that! good old english breakfast! Angus beef for dinner; nothing beats that.

Vive le Brits!

...when the author refers to British folk as regarding eating as, "a chore", l think she refers to food preparation, NOT the consuming of it - it's supposed to be that this country gets thru more ready meals than the rest of Europe combined, & that fundamentally, is the core of the problem...

I think Green Giant is correct, a big problem is alcohol consumtion. I have a 35 mile round trip to/from work at the moment (on the bike obviously) and am gaining weight!

A considerable amount of that is I don't doubt my love of a nice pint, coupled with a glass or two of wine. Whereas the French (apparently) drink with a meal and then stop, we drink, usually before, during and after one, if we have one at all. Thats an awful lot of calories to burn off.

l think this article is spot-on - & it only tells how ignorant so many British folk are of dietary requirements that they're contributing so much drivel on here - eating high protein breakfasts makes no sense if you're about to use energy, because things like eggs & bacon are the most demanding food types for the gut to break down, & DIGESTION IS A PROCESS CONSUMING OF ENERGY - so it makes sense to eat slow release carbohydrates for breakfast - if you eat diary & meat products, your body goes into energy debt as a result of the demand on it to cope with complex proteins in the intestine, & this is something you seriously don't need on a bike...

As for the old **** about eating too much bread - UTTER IGNORANCE!

Bread is the main substance of any healthy diet, but the main scapegoat of all those who eat all the other cack with it...

l.e:"l'm gonna stop eating bread 'cos that last slice really bloated me out - l only have to look at a slice of bread & l'm bloated..."

l've heard this b/s so many times, it's almost not humurous any more - what, the half tub of lard & jar of peanut butter you put on it, & 3 sugars in the tea, did nothing to bloat you out, it was all the fault of that 1 slice of bread?

Come on, this attitude is so silly, surely you don't need an A-level in human biology to understand this nonsense?

l live on bread & on my bike, & l've been getting thinner for the last decade (gone down from size 32 cacks to 28...)

l think what the author is really trying to say, in the most diplomatic way, is that the British folk who oughta know better, still eat like chavs - sure there are Mcdonald's & all the other processed rubbish eaters in France, but those with a bit of education, stick to what's good for them - over here they don't & this column of replies is the proof...

This just goes to show how misleading statistics can be.

Yes we have a different diet to the French and yes we are on average larger but there are many other differences between the two of us.

Our personal hygiene levels are higher, as is our toilet paper and deodorant usage. We also win more wars but I would not suggest to everyone that a change in diet would lead to changes in these areas.

The likelihood of a diet change causing you to turn into a soiled trouser, stinking surrender monkey is very low, so likewise don’t believe that their diet will also make you thinner.

There are lots of other factors involved too.

Don't believe all you read folks!!

No Onions - deffo! Makes me fart like an ack-ack gun - Now I wouldn't be popular with the fat twinks behind would I? The smell of onions mixed with French Food and Medoc Red Wine is enough to make a herd of cows pass out, let alone a bunch of fat cyclists LOL!

Continental European people tend to cook proper meals instead of eating convenience foods such as takeaways, micro meals and frozen food.

Balanced diet, fresh fruit and veg, excercise and actually cooking food from fresh rather than high sugar and salt sauces is the way forward.

arturowan

A slice of bread is exactly the same as that spoonful of sugar as far as your body is concerned. Easy energy - but not healthy. That is why your body spikes your insulin to protect itself from the damage cause by high blood glucose. Good fats are where it is at for energy. If your insulin is low enough you can use fat from food, and your gut, quickly. If your insulin is high because you consume too much sugar you will 'bonk' when you run out of fuel in your muscles.

Maybe time for you to start reading up on some of the latest biology research.