Why are French women not fat?

That is the question I get asked so many times.  Especially when people hear what we are eating in France (and see that I have lost weight since living here).
I must be honest, I can only guess what the answer can be.
Let me explain to you the difference in my diet in France compare to in SA:
For breakfast we drink coffee from a huge bowl (yes, huge, all our visitors can confirm that as they all comment on the size).  And I drink mine with milk.  And we share half a baguette.  My cholestrol conscious hubby eats cholestrol lowering margarine on his, I eat full creamy butter on mine.
In SA I hardly drank coffee, mainly when taking a coffee break in Sandton with my friends. And bread I avoided as far as possible as I gained weight just looking at it.
Due to the cost of living we do not often go to a restaurant, perhaps once or twice a month (often in SA when working late or trying to avoid the traffic between Jhb and Pta or having an empty fridge due to no time for shopping). We rather cook at home.  We eat beef (like in SA), veal (less in SA), duck (not in SA), rabbit (not in SA) and lots of fish (less in SA).  We try to eat cheese only when having visitors, but with cheeses like Beaufort, Comté, Morbier, Roquefort, Reblochon, creamy Camember with running shoes, Pont l'eveque, the list can go on and on, who can not help to buy more cheese than what the visitors will be able to finish :) ? (It will take us another week to finish the Morbier that I've bought for the visitors we had on Saturday evening...).  Even potatoes I eat more often than in SA.  And using cream in dishes.
I eat a lot of aubergine (egg plant) and fennel (not in SA), but hardly any broccoli, spinach and far less tomatoes (even though I love it, JL is not fond of it).
With JL having a chocolate tooth, we're having a square or two of dark chocolate, almost every evening after dinner.
So I feared for the results when I had to go for a check up yesterday morning.  And to my surprise my cholestrol is lower than before leaving SA and my good cholestrol for the first time being higher than my bad one!  And my calcium (I took calcium tablets every day of my life and none since living in France) is higher. 
Hence, all I can say is the quality of growing the food matters in France and I think it does play a role, especially in the flour.  And people walk a lot and clean their own houses, as R200/hour is expensive to pay for some help. So come and eat to your heart's desire! (just bring a fat purse....)