You are right, I know. I have always been amazed by why they don't put on weight - as often the main courses (around here - Beaujolais country) are lots of meat/sausages/fat and the vegetable is more often than not French fries or Gratin Dauphinois (I often joke that I would fall over if I was offered Broccoli)- followed by cheese and bread, and then something like creme bruléé rather than fruit (Quite Atkins already!)But, the first course is often a huge salad.

Ready-made meals are creeping in - but I have to say that the fresh markets heave on a Sunday - and there is a great deal of 'home-made' produce. My favourites are the little old ladies selling 4 leeks, a dozen eggs, one dead chicken and two bunches of flowers - whatever they have in their garden at the time. Butter is far more plentiful than spreads, and free-range chickens etc are not terribly expensive.

Another thing that I notice is how many yogurts are eaten per capita per day. A lot. I wonder whether their gut flora is in a better state than 'ours' and whether this has anything to do with it. Plus, they don't seem to snack so much. They also drink vast quantities of water.

Our local MacDonalds makes me smile. Yes, they have the usual crap that the UK/USA has but with a twist. For example, they often run special meals - a burger with a wholemeal bun and goat, or maybe roquefort cheese for example. The 'meal-deal' comes with it's own little glass bottle of Beaujolais!!

We also don't have Chinese/Indian takeaways or many home deliveries, which helps!

Having said all that though, I work with maybe 12 English people. We are weighed once yearly by the company doctor. The vast majority of us put on weight (average 2kg/year) for the one to three years! I certainly did......