Serving sizes are smaller than most of us imagine. According to a survey by the American Dietetic Association, more than half of the participants overestimated serving sizes, and with good reason. Visualizing tablespoons, ounces and cups of food isn’t easy, which makes dishing out correct serving sizes a challenge.
And that portion distortion starts at a young age. If children are served an oversized portion of food, they tend to eat too much of it. A study published in a recent issue of the University of California Wellness Letter found that when children ages 3 to 5 were served twice the size of a typical lunch entrée, they ate 25 percent more food than when they were served a “normal” portion.
However, there is hope. When children were allowed to serve themselves, their serving size was much closer to a standard-size portion.
Need a little help with your own portion control? Print the Arthritis Today Portion Size Chart and hang it on your fridge to better eyeball proper portion sizes and end portion distortion.
Click here to download and print the chart.
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