Food portions
All children need food to grow and stay healthy.
How much your child needs will depend on their age, gender, and activity levels.
In general, boys need slightly more than girls. As your child grows so does the amount of food they need. For example, a 13 year old boy will need more food than a 7 year old girl, and adults will need more food than a 13 year old boy.
Do you plate up the same sized portions for your child as you do for yourself?
Think of the size of your hand compared to that of your child – if your hand is larger than your child’s, then your stomach is likely to be larger than your child’s – so you would need a larger portion of food.
Below shows how many portions your child should ideally have from each food group and gives you an idea of the size each portion should be.
What is a portion?
Portion sizes may look different for different foods from the Eatwell Guide. Portion sizes are only a guide and are based on the ‘average’ person, but who’s average?
Fruits and vegetables
Fruit and vegetables within meals such as tinned tomatoes in lasagne, fruit in a crumble all still count. Be wary of the salt content of some canned vegetables such as beans and pulses.
Potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, and other starchy carbohydrates
Ideally you want to try and include one or two portions at each meal and use as the basis for some snacks.
Dairy and alternatives
For adults and children over the age of five, lower fat dairy and alternatives are recommended.
Beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat, and other proteins
Portion size and hand size
Using your hands can be an easy way to measure out portions. Using your own hand means that you will measure portion sizes that are appropriate for you.
Top tips
If you feel portions sizes at home are too large, try some of the tips below, but make the changes gradually – don’t slash portion sizes all at one – otherwise you and your family will feel hungry all the time and give up on making changes.
Use smaller plates, bowls and cups as your main crockery; large ones encourage larger portions as food looks lost on a big plate
Don’t insist children clear their plates; children are much better at eating to meet their needs than adults are, so if they consistently leave food on their plates, start giving them smaller servings
Avoid eating in front of the TV or while doing other activities; eating without distraction means you can pay more attention to the amount you are eating and enjoy your food more
Cook an extra vegetable; serve it with your usual vegatables (and a smaller portion of meat, fish, or main dish)
Check packaging for guidance on serving sizes – you might, for example, be surprised to find that a ready-made lasagne you’ve been buying for one adult is intended to feed two
Serve a moderate portion of the main course on to each plate and bring a bowl of salad or raw vegetable to the table for people to fill up on
Keep leftovers out of sight, not on the table in front of you; better to re-use them for tomorrow’s meal or freeze for another day
Build in regular healthy snacks so that no one is overly hungry at the start of a meal; you could hand out some sliced apple or carrots sticks while you’re cooking for example