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| A woman says intermittent fasting has helped her control weight. SBS screen capture |
By Oh Young-jin
Two years ago, it was MBC, a major broadcaster, which triggered and fed the "fat diet" fad by airing a special arguing that one could lose weight and get healthy by eating fat-rich meat only.
Now SBS, another TV outlet, has shown a health documentary virtually promoting "intermittent fasting" as a way to lose weight.
In the documentary aired Sunday, a woman claimed she lost 16 kilograms by alternating fasting and eating after her weight soared to 70 kilograms due to post-partum complications.
"I tried all kinds of diets ― one for eating sweet potatoes only or a Danish-type diet type of lots of vegetables and fish," she said. "All failed."
At present, she eats from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and fasts for the remaining hours.
SBS plans a follow-up program. Recently, "Unbelievable Freedom," a book by an American couple about their successful diet, has been published with the cover showing photos of the couple before and after.
Very few remember the two-year-old MBC diet claim that comes down to an extreme version of low-carb, high-fat regimen. The program caused a buying frenzy of butter, meat and dairy products by those who wanted to try it.
Now SBS's promotion may go down the same path because there are too many theoretical holes. For instance, the attraction is that it allows person to eat any kind of food during their eating hours.
"Few can sustain that radical diet for long," a nutritionist told The Korea Times. "More importantly, that diet puts people at a variety of health risks.
"It is important to eat a balanced diet that contains five food groups at designated times, avoiding excessive eating," she said.
By that standard, it is prudent that broadcasters refrain from promoting an unproven diet or one that is not fully backed by facts. After all, the channels may gain an upswing in ratings but at the risk of harming viewers' health.
