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Nutrition & Dietetics vocabulary · Diets and Meal Planning

Portion size

Meaning in nutrition & dietetics, with examples

nounCore term

In nutrition & dietetics, portion size means: The amount of a food that a person actually serves themselves or eats at one time. It may be bigger or smaller than the serving size printed on the label.

In Turkish: porsiyon büyüklüğü, porsiyon miktarı

How it is used

Very common in counseling and weight management. Dietitians use household measures, such as cups, spoons and slices, or the hand, such as a palm of meat or a fist of rice, to estimate portion sizes. People talk about 'portion control' and portions 'getting bigger' over the years.

Example sentences

  1. We used photos of plates to help her estimate portion size more accurately.

  2. Restaurant portion sizes have grown a lot over the last thirty years.

Common collocations

  • portion control
  • reduce portion size
  • estimate portion size
  • large portion sizes
  • serving sizeA standard amount of a food, such as one cup or 30 grams, used on a nutrition label or in guidelines so that nutrient values can be shown and compared.
  • meal planA written plan that shows what, when and how much a person will eat over a day or a week, usually prepared to meet specific health or energy needs.
  • weight managementThe long-term process of reaching and keeping a body weight that supports health, through eating habits, physical activity, behavior change and, when needed, medical treatment.
  • calorieA unit for measuring the energy that food and drink provide and the body uses. On food labels and in nutrition, 'calorie' usually means a kilocalorie (kcal).

More terms: Diets and Meal Planning

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.