To reach or stay at a healthy weight, how much you eat is just as important as what you eat. Do you know how much food is enough for you? Do you understand the difference between a portion and a serving? The information below explains portions and servings, and it provides tips to help you eat just enough for you.
What is the difference between a portion and a serving?
A portion is how much food you choose to eat at one time, whether in a restaurant, from a package, or at home. A serving, or serving size, is the amount of food listed on a product’s Nutrition Facts label, or food label (see Figure 1 below).
Different products have different serving sizes. Sizes can be measured in cups, ounces, grams, pieces, slices, or numbers—such as three crackers. Depending on how much you choose to eat, your portion size may or may not match the serving size.
To see how many servings a container has, look at the top of the label. “Servings per container” is listed right above “Serving size.” In the example below, a frozen lasagna serving size is 1 cup. But the container has four servings. If you want to eat 2 cups—or half the package—you’d be eating two servings.
Do a little math to find out how many calories you would really be getting.
- 1 serving = 280 calories
- 2 servings = 280 × 2 = 560 calories
In this case, eating two servings would mean getting twice the calories—and other nutrients—that are listed on the food label.
How have recommended serving sizes changed?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) changed some food and beverage serving sizes so the labels more closely match how much we typically eat and drink. As a result of recent updates to the Nutrition Facts label, some serving sizes on food labels may be larger or smaller than they were before (see Figure 2 below). For instance, a serving size of ice cream used to be 1/2 cup. Now it’s 2/3 cup. A serving size of yogurt used to be 8 ounces. Now it’s 6 ounces.
Remember: The serving size on a label is not a recommendation of how much you should eat or drink.
Syndicated Content Details:
Source URL: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-management/just-enough-food-portions
Source Agency: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)