Chewing the fat

Some years ago, I found myself backstage at a Paris fashion show talking to the designer Jean Paul Gaultier.

- ANDREW ANTHONY

Home-delivery services are adding to Britons' waistlines.

He kept telling me how much he loved London. "It's wonderful!" he exclaimed.

It's always nice to hear your home town praised, but I was intrigued about what in particular he liked about it. "I love ze fat people everywhere, and zay are so happy. In Paris, zay are not allowed out on the streets!"

He was joking, of course, but only slightly. In Paris, almost everyone looks like they live on Perrier and Gitanes, whereas in London, the diversity on which the city prides itself very definitely includes waist size.

Yet behind the understanding that we ought to celebrate different sizes and lifestyles is a growing problem of obesity. Britain has the highest rate of obesity in Europe. Studies show that 28% of the nation qualifies as obese, and a further 36% are overweight.