Reuters' Toni Vorobyova amuses with Croissant-Loving French Need to Measure Up:
PARIS (Reuters) - The love of buttery croissants and entrecotes in creamy sauces has finally caught up with French waistlines, sending the fashion-conscious nation back to the changing room for a wardrobe refitting.I wonder if they're going to measure their heads?
Adult obesity has almost doubled in France since the 1980s, with almost one in 10 adults considered clinically overweight.
So, armed with $1.2 million of state cash and two high-tech cabins, the French Institute of Textiles and Clothes (IFTH) has set about sizing up thousands of people -- from little boys to grannies -- to pin down the shape of the nation.
"People have become bigger, particularly in the legs...and maybe a bit fatter," said Professor Regis Mollard of the Applied Anthropology Laboratory, who helped design the campaign.
