Don't eat too much over the Lunar New Year

Festive fare will pile on pounds

A dietitian has warned people about eating too much over the Lunar New Year, pointing out that a typical holiday meal packs an extra 400 calories.

"The problem is not the ingredients themselves but the sauce and seasoning, as well as how the dishes are prepared," said Leslie Chan Kwok-pan, a registered dietitian and consultant with the Hospital Authority's Health InfoWorld.

He used steamed fish as an example. "Fish itself doesn't have much fat, but soy sauce and oil used for flavouring contain a high volume of salt and energy."

Other common dishes include mushroom and vegetables in oyster sauce, fried chicken and deep-fried crab claws. After the eight hot dishes, restaurants serve fried rice, yifu noodles and desserts such as rice balls in sweet soup.

Chinese restaurants usually offer eight or nine hot dishes on a Lunar New Year dinner menu because these two digits are considered lucky numbers.

"A person will take 1,200 to 1,400 calories from a meal in such a menu - 400 more than the average amount of calories in a normal meal," Mr Chan said, adding the extra calories gained were equivalent to a 45-minute walk.

A man needs between 2,000 and 2,500 calories a day, while a woman should consume 1,500 to 1,800 calories, and a 12-year-old 1,800.

Mr Chan suggested that people could replace high-fat dishes with some healthier options if they wanted to keep the lucky numbers. They could also refrain from forcing themselves to finish all the food on the table. "Elderly people love to encourage youngsters to clear the dishes because they don't want to waste the food. In fact, they can take the leftovers away."

He suggested that people who planned to cook their own dinner stick to the "three low, one high" principle: low sugar, low salt, low oil and high fibre.

"Many food ingredients in Chinese cuisine are good for health, it's just the way we cook them that gives them too much fat and salt."

SCMP Jan 31, 2008