Snacks: Just Say "Non"

Last night, as I was flipping through a stack of French food magazines, I came across this advertisement for Lay’s Potato Chips.  The headline reads:  “A New Recipe for Happiness,” and the ad goes on to say that because the kinds of fats we eat is a concern these days, Lay’s Chips now have less mauvaises graisses, or “bad fats.”  For sure it wasn’t this copy or the suggestion that Lay’s Chips can happily accompany a chicken, roast beef or barbecue that grabbed me, it was the not-so-small print at the bottom of the page that made me stop.  It reads:

FOR YOUR HEALTH, AVOID SNACKING BETWEEN MEALS.

And then it gives the following web address:  www.mangerbouger.fr

MangerBouger means EatMove and it’s an initiative funded by the French government to get people to eat foods that are good for them and to exercise routinely. 

For a while now, there have been dire warnings on cigarettes in France.  I mean really dire, like the words Smoking Kills in bold black letters so big they stretch across half the pack. And soon there’ll be an icon with a slash over a silhouette of a pregnant woman with a glass to her lips, and a line saying that would-be moms should have zero alcohol. 

Now there’s the snack patrol and three other messages saying, “For your health” …

• Eat at least five fruits and vegetables each day.

• Exercise regularly.

• Avoid eating foods that are too fatty, too sweet, too salty.

While French people still look chicly trim to me, there’s a sense among some that these warnings are really needed because the scales are tipping, quite literally.  The other day, a Parisian nutritionist (I know, there was a time when this might have sounded like an oxymoron), told me that obesity is on the rise in France and that there are more overweight children here than ever.  She said, with alarm, that France is 20 years behind the United States in terms of the percentage of the population that is obese - her fear was that the gap could close rapidly.

I can’t imagine that companies are happy about having these warnings pasted on the bottom of their advertisements.  But if they don't like the tag lines, it seems they can avoid them by contributing 1.5% of whatever their ads cost to INPES, a national institute devoted to nutrition education.  An interesting option, isn't it? 

In a country that values personal freedom as much as it does foie gras, I think a campaign like this is fascinating and I wonder what it’s going to do.  We'll know it's working if it gets me to give up M&Ms.  I'll keep you posted.

Comments

[Laura at Blame It on Paris]

I've got a post on this on my to-do list. It is so funny! Especially when the ad is for something super healthy, like asparagus.

[michelle]

Dorie, we lived in Paris this spring and I got a chuckle out of that campaign, too! Every snack food commercial on tv has that on the bottom of the screen. It seems to detract from the ad's message!

[Dorie]

Maria: I'm with you.

[Dorie]

Lisa B-K: I'm looking into Chocolate Decadence. With a name like that, how could I not?

Laura: I don't know why I was so blind to these warnings before, but they're kind of my new project now (as though I need another project ...). And yes, I've seen, but haven't ordered the personalized M&Ms. They're a great idea, aren't they?

Ruth: Really thoughtful comments -- thank you. This whole question of personal freedom and a government that wants to take care of its people can be sticky. Where are those fine lines drawn? And will the peole who really need to get the message hear it? Understand it? Accept it? I think it's particularly sticky with eating habits and you brought up the interesting point of snacking through the day as a way of eating healthfully. I don't think this message is for you and for the people who know the difference between nutritionally sound foods and foods that, particularly in excess, can be harmful. I'm not sure where I come down on this, but I know - and appreciate - that seatbelt laws have saved lives, ditto drinking-and-driving laws and I love the no-smoking-in-public-places laws. If these food warnings - they're not and could never be laws - could slow and lower the rate of obesity and its related illness, then I'm on board for them too.

[Maria]

I am glad the French government is trying to do something to stop the obesity problem. Every little bit helps!

[RuthWells]

PS -- I find the tag line "For your health, avoid snacking between meals" misses the mark. Certainly, if one is loading on the calories with 3 large meals per day, snacking in between is not a great idea. But there are those of us who eat less quantity at each sitting, and therefore eat more frequently throughout the day -- essentially snacking our way through the day. One size does not fit all, and that is what is so frustrating about these government-mandated labels (though I'm totally on board with SMOKING WILL KILL YOU in big bold letters).

[RuthWells]

I also find the dichotomy between personal freedoms and paternalistic government fascinating. There are no easy answers, but surely there must be some way to incentivise agri-business behaviors that allow and encourage healthy dietary choices for individuals.

[Laura]

I first noticed those ads on Coca Light posters which sort of made sense (although let's not get started with the chemicals in diet soda) but I almost laughed when I saw it on a KFC poster advertising some sort of "Maxi" meal proclaiming 'you wouldn't be full two hours later' including a chicken sandwich, chicken strips, fries, a biscuit, a corn-on-the-cob, a huge soda and a sundae. Then on the bottom it said "for your health don't eat too much fat, salt or sugar" hmmmm.
And just a side note: speaking of m&ms, have you seen the ones you can personalize to say whatever you like? So much fun...

[Lisa B-K]

You have a blog AND yr in France? Excellent. Sign me up.

I partake of MMs at Halloween (and Reese's peanut butter cups, and Twix), but the rest of the year... well, there's this stuff called Chocolate Decadence. Um, I'm far from vegan, but this chocolate is JUST THE THING.

[Dorie]

Breadchick, you're my new idol. If I could limit myself to 3 of anything, I wouldn't worry about my M&M habit ... or my cookie habit ... or my ice cream habit ... or ...

And I love the quote about moderation -- thanks!

[breadchick]

Here I am, sitting at my desk reading this post about not snacking between meals while I pop one of the three dark chocolate Hershey Kisses I allow myself each afternoon. I clicked on the link to the French government campaign and then I got to the bottom of your post and had to giggle about giving up M&M's. Reading the French campaign and your post may have worked though because I did put the 3rd Kiss back in the jar and got myself a glass of water instead.

A wise person, Mark Twain I believe, said it best, "Everything in moderation including moderation".