We have all up to now imagined French women as super slim. However, a recent survey highlights that more than a third are in fact overweight .
19.8m out of the population of France total population of 63m are too fat, with 5.9m being obese . This equates to 3m more than nine years ago.
It appears that more women are affected than men, so says Professor Arnaud Basdevant, a Parisian hospital nutritionist .
The slender waistline of Brigitte Bardot seems to be a thing of the past, with a third of French women overweight. Many of them drink to excess, with 1 in 30 drinking enough to be classified as an alcoholic.
50% of Frenchwomen are considered at serious risk smoking, overeating or drinking.
Thet traditional French ways of selecting and preparing food used to ensure good health and slim figure.
However, nowadays with McDonald's and Burger King being commonplace in cities and towns across France, with picture is somewhat different.
Family meals have been replaced by supermarket ready to eat dinners.
It is almost unbelievable that France has the second highest number of McDonalds outside the USA .
It is so easy to make fresh food. Yet as we have less time, we tend to go for prepared-food latest study.
12.4% of the French population is obese, in contrast to 11.3% in 2003 and 8.2% in 1997.
