Proper Portions
Trends in Increasing Portion Size
Whether at home or at your favorite restaurant, oversized portions are everywhere. Restaurant meals, snacks, desserts, and beverage amounts have increased steadily over the past two decades.
Oversized portions = Excess Calories (which get in the way of maintaining a healthy life)
What Your Family Can Do:
Divide up contents of one large package into smaller containers so that your food is in portion friendly servings
Instead of eating straight from the package, measure out the right serving size into a bowl or container
Become familiar with serving size recommendations (www.choosemyplate.gov is a good source for this)
Quick Tips
A portion differs from serving size, and are often larger than the recommendations of a serving size. Portions are the amount offered in a package of food, at a restaurant, or the amount a person chooses to put on their plate.
For More Information
www.teamnutrition.usda.gov/library
Information provided adapted from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, www.kidshealth.org, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and NCH handouts.