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OECD report shows French sleep, eat more than most

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That's because they don't have Freedom Fries. They have French Fries.

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The French know how to live.

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And the French—among the world’s slimmest people—spend twice as much time eating as Americans, Canadians and Mexico.

We often talk or complain here at JT about how foods from other countries are modified for the Japanese taste. I never thought about that when I was younger, because it is all I knew. Having returned to America, I have discovered Americans do the same thing.

So far, what I have seen is that "Americanizing" food means larger portions with cheese and bacon thrown on top. You can get cheese and bacon put on almost everything here.

As for sleep...I vaguely remember reading about the concept...

Taka

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The average Japanese person gets 8 hours of sleep a night???

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Must be nice. Sleep 9 hours, eat all day, then have a nice riot before bed time.

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bushlover: "That's because they don't have Freedom Fries. They have French Fries"

Typical ignorance. They're not called 'French fries' in France, and the French scoff at the name. Their called something like pommes frittes, and clearly since they're much, much slimmer than North Americans despite eating twice as much, your countrymen in particular engage in a few too many of said fries. Clearly their diet is heaps better than in other Western countries.

Taka: "Having returned to America, I have discovered Americans do the same thing."

Come on, you didn't know that before? Didn't you ever eat 'Chinese' food back home? By that of course I mean places like, Ho Lee Chow!

SuperLib: I thought the exam same thing when I read that. The only way the average Japanese gets eight hours of sleep per night is if they count in all the people over 80 who have actually retired (not retired but still working).

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I believe the French also work the least among developed nations with their 35 hour work week.

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What don't the french Scoff at? In any case, i think some deeper study is needed into this. How someone can eat a whole bunch of high fat foods and sleep all the damn time and yet not gain a pound is beyond me.

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The only way I can imagine japanese sleeping 8 hours is if we count to sleeping when commutting or in the classroom...

The french take a lot of time for eat, but the size of the dishes of the french cuisine is so small like japanese food. I think that is not that they eat more, is that they use to much time, in Japan people eat in 15 minutes.

Hmm... I envy be french, it sounds a lot more relaxed way of life.

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Do the French really eat snails?

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Smitty,

Before I joined the Navy, I lived in a small town (pop. 1000 or so) and no, there were no Chinese restaurants. We had to go to the big city for that (Fargo).

Anyway, I think the French have it right. I think both the American and Japanese cultures need to have a better work/life balance.

Taka

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The average Japanese person gets 8 hours of sleep a night???

You didn't read it correctly. They get 8 hours per day. I'd wager they count the time spent sleeping on the train, in meetings, on the john, etc.

Taka

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is not that they eat more, is that they use to much time

that must be it, they must eat their portions slowly. I've read that the women (maybe men too) also keep slim because of les cigarettes.

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Yes sarge. Snails are fantastic, unless you see them being prepared, but even that wasn't enough to put me off. Mmmm, stuffed with fresh parsley and diced garlic and a Cru Bourgoise....

Sadly, I think saying the French are slim will be a thing of the past before too long. Most Under 30's eat rubbish on a regular basis and under 20's might as well be Brits or Americans, not only with food but with their general lifestyle.

Try and find a young bird that knows how to cook these days....and couple that with 'em getting fatter. I hope that isn't the future, despite my addiction for Italian Women.

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And the French—among the world’s slimmest people—spend twice as much time eating as Americans, Canadians and Mexicans.

Does not quite jibe with the headline, as others have noticed. Eating longer does not necessarily equate to eating more. In fact, it seems the French might be staying slimmer by actually taking the time to CHEW their food. Naturally, not eating all the JUNK the other three nationalities tend to eat helps, even if they do actually eat MORE of healthy food.

Napoleon said six hours sleep is enough for any man. Seven hours enough for any woman. And eight hours is enough for any fool! Oh, well, Napoleon was not actually French, he was Corsican.

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Sounds like a great lifestyle: plenty of sleep, good food, short work hours (plus time off striking), exercise (soccer and rioting)

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Altria - Like I said, the French know how to live.

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Add to that a very much subsidized education, and pretty decent health care system (comparatively speaking), and you've got a pretty ideal spot to live. Now if you could do something about the attitude towards those not French born (in many cases, not all), and lower the COST of a lot of said food, it would be even better.

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