BBC: “French Fight Flab With Cooking Lessons”

Posted By elissa on Jan 10, 2011 | 2 comments

Via “Weighty Matters,” here’s a weight loss idea that’s near and dear to my heart. According to the BBC…

A leading public hospital in Paris is teaching patients being treated for obesity how to cook.

And instead of being put on a diet, they are told it’s OK to sit down to a three-course meal – especially with family or friends.

“Enjoying food, variety in food, the culture of food are the best defences against obesity,” says Dr Arnaud Basdevant, head of the nutrition department at the Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital in Paris.

…Patients in Dr Basdevant’s department learn to make classic French dishes. The only difference is that they’re shown how to use water instead of oil or butter, but still achieve a tasty result.

…The doctors say this system won’t make anyone stick-thin, but combined with regular exercise it will help to get obese and overweight people down to a healthier weight.

“Our approach isn’t to restrict people or to put France on a diet,” Dr Basdevant says.

“On the contrary, we try to keep the variety, the pleasure and the conviviality, with high-quality products.”

Love it. As I’ve noted on the forums that I mod, it’s a lot more difficult to take control of your nutrition if you don’t know how to cook. So in this particular case, “Vive la France”… or at least this particular French hospital. Hopefully, it’s at the forefront of a trend.