Portion Sizes: How Big or Small Should They Be?

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the average American portion size has increased dramatically since the 1950s with the average restaurant meal being four times as large. American adults weigh, on average, 26 pounds more today than in the 1950s. A Jan. 2013 Public Health and Nutrition Journal study found that 96% of entrees at chain restaurants exceeded dietary guidelines for fat, sodium, and saturated fat–some coming close to exceeding recommended daily intake maximums for sodium with just one meal. See below for the recommended serving sizes of common foods according to the CDC, FDA, and other experts.   

Breakfast Foods
Lunch & Dinner Foods
Snack & Dessert Foods

Breakfast Foods one serving of cereal   the volume of a wine glass       one bagel   a hockey puck       one muffin   a light bulb       one serving of pancakes   a CD       one serving of butter   a Scrabble tile       one serving of juice   a hockey puck       one serving of waffles   a CD Lunch & Dinner Foods one serving of steak   a deck of cards or the palm of your hand       one serving of fish   a checkbook                one serving of dry spaghetti   a quarter       one serving of cooked rice or pasta   a tennis ball                one medium baked potato   a computer mouse                one dinner roll   a yo-yo       one serving of chopped raw vegetables   a baseball                one serving of salad dressing   a shot glass       one serving of cooked vegetables   a billiard ball       one serving of oil   one die       one serving of chopped raw fruit   a baseball or woman’s fist                 a hamburger patty   a mayonnaise jar lid                 one serving of beans   a billiard ball                 one serving of mashed potatoes   half an apple                 one serving of lasagna   two hockey pucks Snack & Dessert Foods   one serving of cheese   six dice       one serving of pretzels or chips   a tennis ball       one serving of peanut butter   a ping-pong ball       one serving of nuts or dried fruit   a golf ball       one serving of ice cream   a tennis ball

Sources:

Huffington Post, “The New (Ab)Normal: Portion Sizes Today vs. In the 1950s (Infographic),” huffingtonpost.com, May 23, 2012

Tanya Mancini, “Portion Size,” thatsfit.com, Dec. 3, 2009

Men’s Health Editors, “12 Easy Ways to Estimate Serving Sizes,” menshealth.com (accessed Feb. 13, 2013)

Nicole Nichols, “The Portion Distortion Guide,” sparkpeople.com (accessed Feb. 13, 2013)

U.S. National Library of Medicine, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and National Institutes of Health, “Portion Size,” nlm.nih.gov, Jan. 24, 2013

Jackie Wicks, “How to Learn Portion Control… …A Guide to Quickly Teach You the Basics of Portion Control,” peertrainer.com (accessed on Feb. 28, 2013)

Helen W. Wu and Roland Sturm, “What’s on the Menu? A Review of the Energy and Nutritional Content of U.S. Chain Restaurant Menus,” Public Health Nutrition website, Jan. 2013