Day 266 - 20 Jun 96 - Page 29
1 that they drink a lot more wine than we do?
2 A. I do not accept that. The level of alcohol where it is
3 not harmful is -- they have recently changed the
4 recommendations, but the actual amounts are more or less
5 the same. For women it is 3 units of alcohol a day, for
6 men it is 4 units of alcohol a day, and above that it is
7 thought to be harmful. In terms of looking at the French
8 study you have referred to there are lots and lots of
9 different opinions on that. The one that I think stands
10 most to reason is, if you look at the French diet they
11 consume an awful lot more fruit and vegetables than we do
12 and it is the fresh fruit and vegetables within their diet
13 that are protecting them against the coronary heart disease
14 and cancers.
15
16 Q. I understand that to be one point of view, and certainly
17 you are right they consume more fruit and vegetables than
18 we do. However, at the same time you would agree they
19 consume very considerably greater quantities of saturated
20 fat?
21 A. The question you asked me before was about the
22 alcohol.
23
24 Q. Yes, I know.
25 A. In terms of the alcohol, I do not agree with the
26 theory that they consume more alcohol.
27
28 MR RAMPTON: I will give you, I do not play tricks--
29 A. In terms of saturated fat I think if you looked at
30 something like the Scottish diet there probably would not
31 be much difference between the saturated fat consumed by
32 the French and the Scottish.
33
34 Q. I give you my drift, because I am not trying to trap you.
35 You have said that it is your opinion that what protects
36 the French, and indeed if you look at figures, the Germans
37 as well, may be a high consumption of green vegetables and
38 fruit; yes?
39 A. I think that is one thing which might protect them but
40 I think anything related to diet is a multifactorial type
41 of situation.
42
43 Q. Exactly.
44 A. And that is one factor which might protect them.
45
46 Q. Exactly.
47 A. Fresh fruit and vegetables.
48
49 Q. I am sorry. I did not mean to interrupt. Did you also
50 know that French men and German men between the ages of 35
51 and 64 are notably fatter than British men?
52 A. German men and French men?
53
54 Q. And French men too. Did you know that?
55 A. I believe they are. In this country the incidence of
56 obesity is still rising. The Health of the Nation produced
57 figures for reducing the targets for obesity and rather
58 than falling the incidence of obesity in this country is
59 still rising.
60
