What’s the difference between a “portion” and a “serving?”

Here’s the official definition:

A “portion” can be thought of as the amount of a specific food you choose to eat for dinner, snack, or other eating occasion. Portions, of course can be bigger or smaller than the recommended food servings.

A “serving” is a unit of measure used to describe the amount of food recommended from each food group. It is the amount of food listed on the Nutrition Facts panel on packaged food or the amount of food recommended in the Food Guide Pyramid and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Why does it matter anyway? Because confusing these two terms can lead to weight gain.  Check out this link on portion distortion:

New additions to the “Portion Distortion Interactive Quiz” section of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s (NHLBI) Web Site show the difference in size and calories between portions offered 20 years ago and what is often a standard serving today.

“This site not only teaches people how portion sizes have changed and calories have increased, but also the amount of physical activity one has to do to burn up those extra calories,” said Karen Donato, S.M., R.D., coordinator of NHLBI’s Obesity Education Initiative.

This is an extremely useful site in understanding how the marketing of food has changed our lives.