The evidence of ambivalence, or worse, about eating among American
women is abundant. In a questionnaire given to American college students
on six different campuses nationwide, Rebecca Bauer, Dana Catanese, and I
found that an average of 71% of females thought their thighs were too
fat, and 13% admitted that they would be embarrassed to buy (that is
correct: buy) a chocolate bar at a store. More so, ironically, than to
buy a condom!
Stimulated by all these differences, the "French paradox" and the
"American dilemma," my colleagues Claude Fischler in France and Sumio
Imada in Japan, and my students Allison Sarubin and Amy Wrzesniewski, set
out to measure the differences in attitudes toward eating, diet and
health in four countries: the United States, France, Flemish Belgium and
Japan.
In each country we sampled both college students and adults waiting
in airports and train stations. We asked about the importance of food in
life, beliefs about diet and health, food choices, and modes of thinking
about food. I will focus on our analysis of the French-American contrast.
It suggests several factors that constitute the culturally distinct
relationships to food.
We gave subjects a choice of a one week vacation of luxury
accommodations with average food or average accommodations with excellent
food, both at the same price. Americans choose the better food
alternative almost half as often (42%) as the French (86%). We find that
in general, food brings to mind, in the French, the experience of eating,
while for Americans, it is more likely to conjure thoughts of calories,
nutrients, or the effects of food on the body.
It is particularly ironic that although the Americans do much more
worrying about food and health, and consume a much higher proportion of
foods that have been modified to reduce fat, a substantially larger
percent of the French (74%) see themselves as healthy eaters than do the
Americans (34%).
In all four cultures studied, women have a more negative attitude
toward food than men. It can not simply be attributed to greater concern
among women about weight and appearance; after all, we also see a more
negative attitude among women regarding factors affecting the food-health
link as well as the food-appearance link. The most extreme contrast
exists between the American female and the French male: she is troubled
by food, while he's content.
What we are seeing with these French-American differences about
food is probably something more general in the French-American contrast.
There is a tendency toward moderation in French culture, in contrast to
the American inclination toward excess.
Americans have a particular predisposition to spend a lot of money
on making their lives easier, and minimizing exercise or effort:
microwaves, air conditioners, power windows, automatic garage door
openers, driving to a store only a few blocks away. These are
expenditures that the economist Tibor Scitovsky calls "comforts."
The French spend much less money on such things, and as a result
get more exercise. They are more inclined to spend money on what
Scitovsky calls "pleasures": unique experiences such as fine meals,
plays, flowers, and conversation with friends. Scitovsky notes that
pleasures contribute more to happiness than do comforts; we appreciate
our air conditioning only when it breaks!
It's clear that French-American differences in milieu -- such as
reliance on cars and availability of snacks have a lot to do with
French-American differences in attitudes toward life and food. I doubt
that the French hypothalamus -- the part of the brain involved in food
intake -- is any different from that of the American. It's more a matter of
cultural values and styles of life. For the French, yum means only
moderate amounts of pleasure -- but for Americans the same word means piles
of food, and pleasure mixed with worry.
VIVE LA DIFFERENCE! A comparison of French-American attitudes
toward food
Legend for Chart:
B - FRENCH female
C - USA female
D - FRENCH male
E - USA male
A
B C D E
THE MODIFICATION OF DIET TO IMPROVE HEALTH
Frequency of eating low fat foods (% at least a few
times a week)
36 81 22 60
THE HEALTH VALUE OF FOOD
I rarely think about the long term effects of my diet
on health. (% true)
44 28 57 26
THE EXPERIENCE OF EATING
Heavy cream goes best with the word: whipped or unhealthy
(% who said whipped)
88 46 74 60
THE PLEASURE DERIVED FROM EATING
Enjoying food is one of the most important pleasure
in my life. (% true)
73 42 77 42
Paul Rozin, Ph.D., is a psychology professor at the University of
Pennsylvania.
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