Dieting with pork is not impossible, agency says

Combining pork dishes with a low-calorie diet may sound contradictory at first, but a private association promoting pork has recruited four Koreans to help them shed pounds with its self-developed pork diet.

Korea Pork said yesterday it picked four men and women aged between 20 and 40 out of almost 140 candidates. For six weeks beginning yesterday, the association will provide them with a diet consisting of 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of pork and 100 grams of carbohydrates per meal. Meanwhile, physical trainers will give them a customized workout.

“In a pilot program held late last month, 19 people lost an average of 3 kilograms [6.6 pounds], and one person shed as much as 8 kilograms,” said the association’s spokesman.

The association claims that, contrary to popular belief, pork is not necessarily fatty, but varies among parts. For instance, pork belly contains 28.4 grams of fat per 100 grams. But the same amount of sirloin and neck contains 19.9 grams and 9.5 grams of fat, respectively. Shank has just 2.9 grams of fat per 100 grams. By comparison, chicken breast fillet, the most popular meat for those on weight-loss diets, contains 23.7 grams of fat.

As pork imports may be ramped up in the coming months due to the recently-implemented free trade agreements, local pork growers coined the word handon to signify high-quality Korean pork.

By Seo Ji-eun [spring@joongang.co.kr]