摘要：
8岁的哈蒂姆静静地坐在冰冷的诊疗室里，等待儿科医师科林·法斯勒宣读对他的“判决”。
In a cold, stark municipal hall, 8-year-old Hatim sat silently as the pediatrician passed judgment.
8岁的哈蒂姆静静地坐在冰冷的诊疗室里，等待儿科医师科林·法斯勒宣读对他的“判决”：“4英尺6英寸（1.37米）、95磅（43.1公斤），你超重了。早餐不能再吃甜饼了，碳酸饮料和果酱面包也要统统省掉！土豆和肉一天最多吃一次。快餐可以有牛奶或奶酪，但不可以两样儿都吃。法国棍子面包倒还可以，不过必须搭配素食。”——这听起来真让人难以忍受，特别是对一个8岁的孩子来说。
“体重指数23.6，”法斯勒医生继续说，“你必须提高警惕。最好要找出一种自己感兴趣的运动。不过，如果你打算去游泳池游泳的话，不可以在旁边的售货机里买炸薯条。”
据《纽约时报》1月25日报道，1月7日是法国“国家儿童体重日”，这一天，大批儿科医师志愿者分散到法国80多个城市，为孩子们称体重、量身高，提供健康咨询和宣传相关知识。法国北部城市鲁贝是 国经济较为落后的地区，同时也是全国肥胖比例最高的地区。据2003年的统计数据显示，鲁贝市有51％的人超重或患有肥胖症，而法国全国的这一比例则为42％。
法国肥胖症增加趋势最为显著的人群是儿童，成年人肥胖症每年以6％的速度递增，儿童肥胖症则每年以17％的速度递增。按照这个速度，法国人的肥胖比例绝对有可能在2020年赶上美国。目前，美国人口中有65％的人超重或患有肥胖症。
仅仅在几年前，肥胖问题还只是法国早间电视新闻或是妇女杂志上偶尔谈论的话题，而现在它已经成为一个政治问题。法国医生勒古恩在自己的新书《肥胖：法国的新疾病》中写道：“以前大家很少谈及（肥胖），只是一些妇女抱怨自己哪里哪里又长肉了。”他预计，这种疾病将是明年总统竞选中社会学家们所要讨论的最重要的问题之一。
专家认为，法国肥胖现象增加的部分原因与美国及欧洲其他国家一样，应归咎于快餐和速成食品的流行、快餐小吃店遍布，以及久坐缺乏运动等。据统计，过去5年来，麦当劳在法国的营业额上升了42％，所得利润比在欧洲其他任何国家都高。约有120万法国人天天吃麦当劳，约占总人口的2％。
去年12月，法国政府宣布禁止在公立学校中放置食品自动售货机，政府还立法禁止播放和张贴误导饮食习惯的电视和印刷食品广告，对一些食品公司制作的不鼓励健康饮食的广告征1.5％的税。法国政府还要求学校每天给学生留半小时的体育锻炼时间。不过，由于种种原因，还有一些更为激进的立法建议并没有被议会通过，其中包括：在非健康食品包装上印制健康提示；强迫餐馆列出食品营养及卡路里清单；彻底消除不健康食品的电视广告等。
In a cold, stark municipal hall, 8-year-old Hatim sat silently as the pediatrician passed judgment.
The morning pastry would have to go. So would the Oasis soft drinks and the after-school Nutella-on-bread. Meat and potatoes would be allowed, but only once a day. A snack could include milk or cheese, but not both. Baguettes were fine, but where were the veggies?
"23.6 body mass index," Dr. Corinne Fassler announced. "You have to raise your consciousness. You have to find a sport you like. But if you go to the swimming pool, don't go to the vending machine for chips."
The French are getting fatter, and Jan. 7 was National Weighing Day for the country's children. A voluntary army of hundreds of pediatricians fanned out to more than 80 cities to weigh, measure, interrogate and enlighten.
Roubaix is an economically depressed industrial town in northern France, the fattest region in the country. Fifty-one percent of the population here is overweight or obese, compared with the national average of 42 percent, according to the most recent national figures in 2003.
The trend line is most significant among children. While adult obesity is rising about 6 percent annually, among children the national rate of growth is 17 percent. At that rate, the French could be - quelle horreur - as fat as Americans by 2020. (More than 65 percent of the population in the United States is considered overweight or obese.)
Just a few years ago, obesity in France was a subject relegated to morning television talk shows and women's magazines. Now the issue has become political.
When Jean-Marie Le Guen, a doctor and Socialist member of Parliament, began introducing bills on how to stop what he calls France's "epidemic," some of his colleagues dismissed him as a radical fringe nuisance. Now he is considered a pioneer.
"It used to be little talked about, and when it was, it was the domain of women complaining that they had put on a little weight," said Dr. Le Guen, who has written a book, "Obesity:
The New French Sickness." The sickness, he predicted, will be "one of the important themes" of the Socialists in the campaign for president next year.
Last September, France banned soda-and-snack-selling vending machines from public schools. The law also banned misleading television and print food advertising and imposed a 1.5 percent tax on the advertising budgets of food companies that did not encourage healthy eating. Schools have been urged to provide students with a half-hour of physical exercise a day. | 
