Weight Watchers, Take Heed: Korean Food May Be Low in Fat, But ...

Are you dreaming of a delicious bowl of chajangmyon (noodles with bean paste) for lunch today? If you are, here's something you should be aware of. To burn up all the calories from that dish, you'd need to dance energetically for two hours straight.

Korean food in general is considered low in fat, but that doesn't necessarily mean it is low in calories. Eating like a Korean king and doing nothing about it afterwards could result in a body shape you're not happy with. The Korea Dietetic Association recently released some information on the caloric values of foods and how fast calories are burned. According to the KDA, those worried about their weight should consider the caloric implications of their food intake. To burn up the calories consumed munching on a single "Choco-pie," a popular chocolate snack, an adult male weighing 65 kilograms would have to jump rope for 15 minutes at a rate of 60 - 70 jumps per minute. What about that thin slice of kimchijon (a patti made from kimchi) you had between meals? To put right that calorific damage, you would need to mop the floor for 50 minutes.

Popular items on lunch menus in Korea are generally high in calories: a serving of beef steak contains 800 calories, fried rice 700 calories, chajangmyon 650 calories, daegu-maeuntang (spicy pollack stew) 500 calories, mul-naengmyun (cold buckwheat noodle soup) 450 calories, dwenjang-chigae (bean paste stew) 400 calories and sushi rolls 350 calories.

Which means that if you had a beef steak for lunch and don't want that food to leave behind an unwelcome reminder, you'll have to play tennis for 105 minutes.

Here are a few examples of the exercise needed to burn off typical servings of some favorite Korean foods.

by Yoo Jee-sang