Although his observations are very acurate Peter has missed the point. The real reason why Greeks have gone obese is the lack of sex tourism and modern Greek society's attempt to assimilate into EU culture. Let me explain. It is a well known fact that in the 80's and 90's single European women of all age would flock to Greece in the summer for the adventure of being with a young handsome Greek hunk. Any young Greek worthy of his ancestral inheritence, married men included, would oblige these lovely French, English, German, Swedish ladies. The Greek women were, of course, well aware that this was happening. So, in order to compete, they had to look pretty and stay in shape! The men did that by all the free sex they were having with foreigners. All that started to change in and around 2005, when the EU culturally assimilated Greeks came of age and stopped behaving like cavemen - for the most part. The amount of sex decreased and the waiste line increased. Since the young Greek women didn't have to compete as much anymore for their big fat Greek partners, they relaxed resulting in a bigger bossom. Hence the obesity level in Greece - coupled with the rise in number of McDonald restaurants!

I want to second Ashley's comments: Lesley, you don't seem to understand what the Mediterranean diet is. Sausages (which, by the way, have always been more a staple of Germanic diets than Mediterranean ones) are eaten as a delicacy in Greece; they are not a main meal. Greek dishes are simple, varied, generally low in fats and sugars, and generally low to moderate in carbohydrates and proteins. What is unhealthy about domates gemistes (stuffed tomatoes) or fasolakia (green beans in an olive oil / tomato sauce)? What about lentil soup? These kinds of foods are the bedrock of the traditional Greek diet. If they seem unfamiliar, I suspect you might be basing your judgement on Westernized Greek restaurants. Let me assure you that saganaki and souvlaki are most certainly NOT staple foods!!

Lesley, you are ridiculously misinformed. Sugars are part of a larger problem, the problem being too many calories consumed in general. Congrats on the weight loss, but it could have been done while eating good carbs too. You seem to have no idea what the Mediterranean diet really is though. Sausages? Really now. The Mediterranean diet is just as Peter said and thus low on bad carbs, as well as bad fats. It also provides a wonderful assortment of vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty-acids.

I suppose I can't blame your lack of reasoning and false beliefs on you though. It's been proven that carbohydrates are our "brain food", and without them, we just don't think as clearly as we should. Huh. Imagine that.

The Mediterranean diet is a bunch of hooey. When the first study was done by a Doctor I can't remember the name of, after the second world war, the people there were on food rations and not eating their normal diet (which really consisted of sausage, meats, fish, eggs and cheese and olive oils and vegetables, with a small amount of rice and bread thrown in. A high fat, high protein diet.) If you look at cookbooks and history, all of the high fat sausage and meats come from that area of the world. However, they supposedly didn't eat them.
After 15 years of attempted weight loss, following the food pyramid, exercising and busting my a**, I have finally lost 55lbs. How? By cutting out grains, starches and all sugars from my diet. I eat healthy vegatables (not corn, potatoes or peas). I eat fatty meats (t-bone, prime rib), fish, chicken. I don't go out of my way to eat fat, but I don't avoid it either. My cholesterol levels, which were high, are now perfect. My weight is improved, my health is improved.
Read Good Calories,Bad Calories by Gary Taubes and learn the history of the food pyramid and the way that sugar interacts with your body.
Sugar is the culprit, whether it be in the form of fruit or complex carbohydrates, it's all sugar.
The consumption of sugar has increased 10 fold for North Americans in the last 50 years. Since the 70's fat consumption has actually decreased. So why are people getting fatter?
Carbohydrates (sugars) are the one thing that we can live without. Before the Inuit had regular contact with "the white man" they survived long periods with just meat and fat. They were healthy and lived long lives.
We have been tricked about fat, and since so many scientists bought into it, they can't back-track.
Get rid of processed foods, chemicals and most of all sugar. High Fructose Corn Syrup is a killer for our time and it's ubiquitous.

I had a similar non-smoking experience at a greek restaurant on the Danforth. We asked to be seated in the non-smoking section where we were quickly escorted to the upper tier of a 2 tier restaurant. Guess which tier the smokers sat on? Ok, the manager forgot smoke rises. People make mistakes.

Outside of the psychadelic blue haze, the food was awesome, if not a little smokey.