Our internist is a close friend and once a week he works in the emergency room of a clinic near Versailles. Not far from the clinic is a large shopping center which is a one-stop fantasy land of everything one could ever imagine -- including Monoprix of course. (OK, it's not Paris, but it's convenient and one can find a parking space.)
They are part of the Programme National Nutrition Santé and are absolutely fascinating. The overall themes with the books of about 140 pages were eating and moving (manger and bouger). There are several in the collection including everything from how to feed one's child from birth through adolescence to Le Guide Nutrition à Partir de 55 ans.
As I know I've mentioned before, whenever a food ad on television might be construed as a snack, a warning flashes across the bottom of the screen reminding us not to eat between meals and that we should be consuming five fruits and vegetables each day.
The books and pamphlets are in full color, amusingly illustrated, intelligent and never preachy. As you can imagine I swooped up a few, sent two off to Andrea and I'm now reading the others. One of the pamphlets is devoted entirely to sugar, another to salt. You know those stories. . .
On a more serious note, one pamphlet talks about depression, gently explaining the difference between "the blues" versus a clinical problem and where and how to turn for help.
Do other countries offer these types of support? I have no idea.
26 comments:
Other countries might, but it wouldn't be the US...
Hugs,
Janice
We do have these things here in Germany as well, and they start teaching children in kindergarden how important fruits and vegetables are.
Sabi
When I go to my doctor now in the US, there are instructive videos which are running with the same types of information. I enjoy sitting and learning from the video...I have even received recipe ideas from the videos. I jot down the info from the video I want to remember and take with me.
One significant attitude I find among the French in all this is -- as you mentioned happens in television ads on snacks -- is that the line the French take is simply not to eat between meals, period. Instead of the Anglo-Saxon 'healthy-eating' line about 'choose a healthy snack,' what I observe about the French is that their culture says no to snacks, allegedly-healthy or otherwise. I think that's better. Though of course snacks aren't just an American curse. I was in London yesterday, and even when I bought a newspaper, the girl at the till asked me if I'd like a chocolate bar with it. This is standard, part of the constant snacking in Britain. I'd say it goes somewhat towards explaining why the British are the fattest people in Europe, and suffering an epidemic of diabetes.
Tish, I'd love to hear more about what is in those pamphlets--seriously!
Actually, in the United States the USDA has some similar pamphlets, and you can find them online in the nutrition section of that website.
Also, for those who read French, you can find the French pamphlets online at mangerbouger.fr. I just looked at them - love the illustrations!
My doctor's office has an array of pamphlets for patients to take away. Some of them are bilingual (English/French), this being Canada.
The U S government has published this type of information for years. I know, because I've seen the pamphlets come through the government documents departments of libraries where I've worked. Most of the information is now online as Murphy mentioned above. The USDA used to publish a yearbok that was full of not just nutritional information but all kinds of practical advice for everyday living. The series ended in 1993, and the last volume published was titled "Nutrition: Eating for Good Health." The yearbooks have all been digitized and can be found via the OhioLINK website among others by searching the catalog under the title "Yearbook of Agriculture." I believe that many "back-to-the-land" types use the earlier volumes for their farming/gardening/preserving food advice.
Returning to say that if one googles
site:gov exercise health
one will find lots of information about those topics.
There are many wonderful pamphlets in doctors' offices and clinics all related to health and exercise with marvelous recipes as well.
Yes we do have pamphlets in our GPs waiting room but they are much more serious and not fun and well illustrated as the ones you feature. Interestingly they seem to focus on diseases and how to cure or manage them.
Tish, don't know if you knew that Jamie Oliver did a series on the horrific foods that US public schools give the students, resulting in obesity & poor health. His series did more for the mothers of this country than any booklet has ever done. He actually loaded a dump truck with fat to equal the weight of the actual fat in the schools' food. Shocking.
At our pediatrician's office, I only see pamphlets for such things as dealing with allergies, ADHD, bed wetting, etc., -- not a thing regarding nutrition and movement. Same goes for my family doctor -- just pamphlets regarding high blood pressure, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, ADHD, etc.
I really wish the US had such wonderful, informative pamplets such as the ones available in France.
I just went poking around the mangerbouger.fr site and it's wonderful -- so easy to navigate (even for me who knows barely any French). The USDA website? Terrible.
Yes Australia has these information brochures, but no friendly reminder on TV about snacking between meals and our fruits and vegies. It is often the manner in which the French do things that is so appealing. The graphics of the French booklets are far more enticing than the Australian equivalents. Warm regards
Canada provides a lot of information in many formats as do the provinces. here is one link that gives you an idea of the wealth of information.
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/hp-ps/index-eng.php
Yes, we have lots of well-packaged health info in Canada. We also have universal health insurance for all citizens and permanent residents. That is another topic, but, as an American citizen (as well as a Canadian one), I long for it to come to the US.
Australia has lots of these little pamphlets on all sorts of things including nutrition and diet etc. Plus all cigarettes are sold with gory photos of diseased lungs etc on the packet!
No snack warnings though! Love that idea.
You are most fortunate to live where you do (for many reasons, including what is considered a basic human right - hello, health? education?) - not to mention a more grounded approach to the fundamentals that keep us all more civilized.
I continue to write (when I can) about healthy eating, Big Food, and so on (in my own small way), because we must stop being so complacent about what we ingest, assuming it's just fine.
Off my soap box.
(Are these pamphlets online?)
Yes Villette, Britain has a weight problem but are the other European countries far behind - I don't think so! I watch TV5 and regularly see overweight French people, I regularly visit Northern France and I have noticed, for many years, an increase in size. In the Loire, a couple of years ago I was surprised by the number of overweight people I saw.
This kind of pamphlet is widely available here, but can they fight the McDo culture? I am not holding my breath.
Not only are there many phamphlets at your doctors and in the hospitals but there is a 24 hr hotline for people who are depressed to call and talk to someone .
Ops - I am in Australia ! :)
Best Beautiful Cars, Latest Hot Vehicles, Strange Cars, Super Cars Model, Funny Cars, Car Latest Models, Cars with Girls, Cars like helicopter and Most Speed and Expensive Cars
WorldLatestVehicles.com
Best Beautiful Cars, Latest Hot Vehicles, Strange Cars, Super Cars Model, Funny Cars, Car Latest Models, Cars with Girls, Cars like helicopter and Most Speed and Expensive Cars
WorldLatestVehicles.com
Best Beautiful Cars, Latest Hot Vehicles, Strange Cars, Super Cars Model, Funny Cars, Car Latest Models, Cars with Girls, Cars like helicopter and Most Speed and Expensive Cars
WorldLatestVehicles.com
I am sure this piece of writing has touched all the
internet people, its really really nice
paragraph on building up new web site.
Here is my website; healthy diet plans
Post a Comment