Public Confusion Over Food Portions and Servings

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Food Guide Pyramid Servings

The Food Guide Pyramid, developed by the US Department of Agriculture and supported by the US Department of Health and Human Services, was first released in 1992. It is a general guide designed to help people follow the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (8).

For each of the 5 major food groups depicted in the Pyramid, there is a suggested number of servings. A Food Guide Pyramid serving is an amount of food used, together with the number of those servings that should provide the daily total of

Food Label Servings

The 1990 Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (14) defines a serving size as the amount of food customarily consumed at one occasion. Serving sizes on the nutrition label are not based on dietary guidance, but rather on the US Food and Drug Administration's lists of “Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed Per Eating Occasion” (15). The reference amounts are categorized into 139 food-product categories that list the amount of food customarily consumed per eating occasion. For example, the

Exchange Lists Servings

In 1950, The American Dietetic Association, the American Diabetes Association, and the US Public Health Association developed the first edition of Exchange Lists for Meal Planning. The Exchange lists were the first standardized servings used for dietary guidance. The Exchange Lists were revised in 1976, 1986 and, most recently, in 1995. The Exchange Lists for Meal Planning(4) categorizes foods into 3 main groups: carbohydrates, meat and meat alternates, and fats.

An Exchange List serving is a

Standard Serving Sizes—How are They Similar and How Do They Differ?

In each case—the Food Guide Pyramid, the Nutrition Facts Label, and the Exchange Lists—”serving size” is a unit of measure and may not be the portion of food a person actually eats at one occasion. For some food items, the serving size in the Food Guide Pyramid, on the Nutrition Facts Label, and in the Exchange Lists is the same (eg, 12 cup canned fruit or vegetables). But many serving sizes differ because the Pyramid, Nutrition Facts Label, and Exchange Lists serve different purposes. (See the

Opportunities for Nutrition Professionals

Consumers can benefit not only from learning the concept of servings, but also from learning how to accurately estimate the size and weight of commonly consumed food portions. Nutrition professionals can help consumers acquire this knowledge by:

■ Explaining that standard reference serving sizes are units of measure designed to help people choose healthful diets. They are not rigid prescriptions that should be eaten at a meal or for a snack.

■ Communicating that the information on a food label

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    These factors may have confounded the effects of the nutrition labelling in some subjects. Undoubtedly there is the need for accurate nutrition labelling information which can be easily interpreted by consumers and allow them to make healthier choices (Hogbin & Hess, 1999; Pelletier, Chang, Delzell, & McCall, 2004). Current European legislation requires nutrition information on energy and macronutrient information per 100 g/ml (Official Journal of the European Union, 2011).

  • Use of Nutrition Facts Panels among Adults Who Make Household Food Purchasing Decisions

    2006, Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior
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    Information on the NFP also can help you reduce your risk for certain diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, obesity, diabetes, and some forms of cancer.2 Although the purpose of the NFP is to make nutrition information accessible and easy to understand, this information is often misinterpreted.3,4 In its recent report, Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) notes that, when reading an NFP, “consumers are expected to understand that calculation of sugar content must include the sugar listed on the snack food label as well as the fructose and corn syrup”(IOM 2003, p. 21).

  • Portion Distortion: Typical Portion Sizes Selected by Young Adults

    2006, Journal of the American Dietetic Association
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    The general lack of awareness among participants of how their typical portion sizes compare with reference sizes may affect nutritional health. For example, individuals who are unaware of how the portion sizes they typically select compare with reference portion sizes will likely face challenges in their attempts to control their body weight and/or reduce their risk of or manage many health conditions including diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease (18). The temporal comparisons of typical portion sizes in this study with those in Guthrie’s (13) show trends supporting the hypothesis that portions served in restaurants or in single unit containers that are larger than the reference portion sizes may translate into larger portions selected at home.

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