Why French Women Don't get Fat

This afternoon I went to Kinokouniya book store at KLCC. I came across a book titled " Why French Women Don't get Fat". I just saw the title but did not browse through it nor did I want to buy it. Really I already knew the reason for French women are not fat, say compared to American women (65% are overweight).

I believe the main reason is the Metro. The metro is the subway/LRT which runs all over Paris. I lived in Paris for three months at a small suburb called Anatole France. Every morning I had to walk 100 m to the metro station. Refer to the Paris metro map here (click at Metro map). I took the metro, stop at Levallois station,then walked about 400 m to the connecting line to Porte Dauphine. I board another subway coach to Charles De Gaulle Etoil station. I walked perhaps another 600 m to catch the train to La Defense station. From the La Defense station, it was another 600 km walk to the Technip's office. Total distance = 100 + 100 + 600 + 800 = 1.6 km. Twice a day, I had to walk 3.2 km (2 miles) to and from office. Total calories used = 200 kcal.

Now let's do the math. How many calories do I use per month to go to the office?

20 days x 200 kcal = 4000 kcal (equal to 1.1 lb of fat)
In one year (11 mths working duration/year), 12 lbs of fat that I don't put on.

Every morning millions of Parisians used the Metro. Compare that with most Americans who drive to work, it's no wonder French women are not fat especially compared to American.

So what about the French women who are not living in Paris. Are they fatter than the fashionable Parisian women? My guess is they are not. The reason ?

The French don't eat much fast food because of tradition and culture of eating two square "real" meals per day. Is BigMac a real meal? Even McDonald restaurants in France had to customise their menu to fit into the French food traditions.

In fact, when I was in Paris, throughout the 3 months I only stepped into McDonalds twice.