A serving size is a specific measurement of food. Often expressed in cups, tablespoons and grams, the most common example is the Nutrition Facts Label found on the back of food items. It is a comprehensive list of all the nutrients found in one serving of a given food item – it is not a recommendation. A portion size is any amount of food that makes it onto your plate. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has a helpful guide to help determine healthy portion sizes, which you can find at the bottom of this post. How do we help our kids take in healthy portions? Kids naturally have wonderful internal hunger and satiety cues. That is to say, they are very good at self-regulating when they have eaten too much or not enough. They lose this skill, overtime, due to a number of factors: Taste When something tastes really good, a child may want to continue eating it despite being full. I think anyone who has had mac and cheese can relate to this one! Excessive Portion Sizes Providing a child larger portion sizes will often distort how much a child thinks they are supposed to eat. Social Influence This plays a major role in interfering with these cues. For example, if a loved one or friend tells a child to be a part of the “clean plate club” or that there are “starving children who aren’t fortunate enough to have this food,” that kid may go into override and eat beyond fullness. Portion-Control Tips Parents can take control of their portion sizes and help kids learn to do the same. Here are some tips: Serve food on smaller plates so meals look larger. A sandwich on a dinner plate looks lost, but on an starter plate it looks downright hefty. When cooking large batches or storing leftovers, separate them into smaller portions before you put them in the fridge or freezer. That way, when your family reaches in, they'll automatically grab a portion that makes sense. Don't let kids eat out of bags or containers. Serve individual portions on plates or in bowls and make it at the table. Don’t eat in front of the Television or other screens. Dish out meals at the counter rather than bringing the whole pot to the table. Not keeping the food at arm's length can make your family think twice about reaching for seconds. If they do want seconds, offer more veggies or salads. Aim for 3 scheduled healthful meals and 1–2 healthy snacks throughout the day. Skipping a meal can lead to overeating at the next one. Add more salads and fruit to your family's diet, especially at the start of a meal, which can help control hunger and give a sense of fullness while controlling calorie intake. Try not to rush through meals. Go slowly and give everyone a chance to feel full before serving more. Family sit-down meals are also great times to reconnect with one another. Don't insist that kids clean their plates. Encourage them to stop eating when they feel full. When eating at restaurants, share meals, order an appetizer as a main dish, or pack up half to take home before you begin to eat. When getting take-aways, order fewer meals and serve family style. At fast food places, choose kids meals with healthy options (milk, fruit, or vegetables). Reference: https://blog.nemours.org/2019/02/healthy-portion-size-for-kids/ https://www.childrens.com/health-wellness/recommended-serving-size-by-age https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/portions.html
