Learn More About Portion Sizes

Ever heard of portion distortion? This is when over-sized portions of food start to look normal to you. People will eat whatever is on their plate without thinking about the number of serving sizes that are actually in front of them.

Portion Distortion Facts

According to Statistics Canada, our calorie intake has jumped significantly over the last several years. Did you know that two decades ago:

Food item	20 years ago	Today
Coffee shop muffin	2.5 ounces (71 grams) and 210 calories	4 ounces (113 grams) and up to 500 calories
Chicken caesar salad	1.5 cups and 390 calories	3 cups and nearly 800 calories
Soft drink	6.5 ounces (192 ml) and 85 calories	20 ounces (591 ml) and 250 calories

 Source: Leslie Beck, CTV News 

What’s a portion size?

A portion size is the amount of food that you actually put on your plate, which you plan to eat in one sitting.

For example, a sandwich with two pieces of bread is one portion but represents 2 servings of grain products since each slice of bread is one Food Guide serving.   

A large plate of pasta in a restaurant may provide 500-750 ml (2-3 cups) of pasta, which is equal to 4 to 6 Food Guide Servings. 

How much should we eat?

How much you should eat depends on your age and gender. Canada’s Food Guide suggests different amounts of each food group.

For example, a child aged 2-3 should eat 3 servings of grain each day, while a child aged 9-13 should eat 6 grain servings daily. An adult aged 19-50 should eat between 6 and 8 grain servings daily, depending on their gender.

A Guide to Serving Sizes

Item		Amount	One serving of:
Palm of hand Cell phone		2.5 oz (75 g)	Meat Chicken Fish
Size of fist Computer mouse		½ cup (125 mL)	Pasta Rice Medium Potato Fruit
Tennis ball		¾ cup (175 mL)	Yogurt Hot cereal Tofu
Thumb tip		1 tsp (5 mL)	Butter Oil
2 thumb tips		1.5 oz (50 g)	Cheese
Both palms open		2 cups (500 mL)	Vegetables (2 servings)

Source:  Canadian Diabetes Association  and EatRight Ontario  

Tips to watch your portion sizes:

• Get better at judging food portions, and knowing how much is in a serving size. To help you practice, try using measuring cups and spoons, or use the serving size guide below.
• Put food on a plate rather than eating out of the container – we often eat more if we can’t judge the portion size.
• Studies have shown that we will eat more when using bigger serving dishes. Use smaller plates and bowls.

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Additional resources:

• Portion sizes explained: video from EatRight Ontario 
• Serving Sizes – how much do you know? 
• Canada’s Food Guide