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The trend of “super-sized” or “value-added” meals seems to have increased the amount of food we are eating. According to Statistics Canada, the average number of calories in the Canadian diet increased 18% between 1992 and 2002.

This is not surprising, given that most food portions have doubled in the last 20 years. Unfortunately, this may have also contributed to the increasing number of adults and children who are overweight or obese.

Beat Portion Distortion with Portion Control

The portion of food you put on your plate may differ from the serving sizes in Canada’sFood Guide:

  • A portion size is the amount of food that you choose to eat at a meal or snack.
  • A Food Guide Serving is a reference amount to help understand how much food is recommended from each food group.
Visit Health Canada’s website to learn more about Canada's  Food Guide serving sizes.

Most of us have gotten used to eating larger portions than we need. The first step to mastering portion control is to learn about the recommended number of servings we need for each of the food groups in Canada’s Food Guide.

  • The number is different for children, teens, and adults.
Visit Health Canada’s website to see how many daily servings each member of your family needs from each of the food groups. You can also visit Health Canada’s website to help you and your family keep track of your food guide servings.

We don’t always have a measuring cup or scale handy when we are choosing our portions. Here are some ways to help you recognize what a Food Guide Serving looks like:

This Food Guide Serving

Is as big as

2 ½ ounces (75 g) of meat, fish, or chicken

A deck of cards

1 cup (250 mL) salad greens

A fist

1 ½ ounces (5 0 g) of cheese

Four dice or two thumbs

A medium- sized vegetable or fruit

A computer mouse, baseball, or light bulb

2 tablespoons (30 mL) of peanut butter

A ping pong ball

1/2 cup ( 125 mL)  of cooked pasta or rice

A tennis ball

1 slice bread (35 g)

A CD case