Hi everyone,
I've been no mail for the last couple of weeks, first at a meeting in
Norway, and then on vacation in Paris.  Didn't actually observe anyone
breastfeeding in Paris, but saw some babies in slings, and I saw a lot more
older children, as in 6 and up, using pacifiers in public than you would in
Norway, and quite a few of similar ages sucking their thumbs on the Metro or
in restaurants and shops, completely unabashed.
What I didn't see, and it was really conspicuous, was overweight children of
ANY age.  After the first couple of days it got to be an obsession.  Looked
at all the children I saw, and the chubby ones were few and far between.
Didn't matter if they were walking or being pushed in strollers, they just
were not overweight.  Teenagers, adults - the same thing.  Whether they
looked European or African or Asian - no difference.  There were an awful
lot of people smoking.  Could this be the key?  Or is there something in the
diet?  All that cheese, and butter pastries?  The fact that they sit down to
eat and take their time about it, savoring the tastes?  Whatever it was, it
was striking.  We changed planes in Amsterdam on the way home and it was
like going to the fun house at the circus, with the mirrors that make
everyone look squat and pudgy.  Or like coming to The Planet of the Slightly
Obese.  After five days of slender Parisians, the rest of the world looks
distorted.
So, tomorrow I have to gear up and see what has been happening on Lactnet
since the 23rd of October or so.  Tonight I am going to continue to ponder
on the physiognomy of the populace in the French capital.
Rachel Myr
Back in gray rainy Kristiansand, Norway

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html