The long lockdown for Covid-19 has had a weighty effect on French life: specifically an average 2.5 kg (5.5 pound) weight gain. Over 57% of those in a survey admitted putting on the pounds.
The survey that revealed the figures also revealed that most plan, or say they do, to return to healthier habits after the emergency is over. They attributed the weight gain to two causes: a more sedentary life style, and the development of a new habit, not as common in France as in the U.S.: snacking between meals.
One thing they can’t blame the gain on is beer consumption. With restaurants and bars closed, festivals cancelled and few tourists, brewers have had to dump 10 million litres of beer, the equivalent of four Olympic-sized swimming pools. They are mostly small-batch craft beers that don’t last as long as the canned commercial variety and spoil more quickly.
