Role of Portion Size in the Context of a Healthy, Balanced Diet: A Case Study of European Countries

Michele O. Carruba, Maurizio Ragni, Chiara Ruocco, Sofia Aliverti, Marco Silano, Andrea Amico, Concetta M. Vaccaro, Franca Marangoni, Alessandra Valerio, Andrea Poli and Enzo Nisoli ()
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Michele O. Carruba: Center for Study and Research on Obesity, Department of Biomedical Technology and Translational Medicine, University of Milan, Via Vanvitelli, 32, 20129 Milan, Italy
Maurizio Ragni: Center for Study and Research on Obesity, Department of Biomedical Technology and Translational Medicine, University of Milan, Via Vanvitelli, 32, 20129 Milan, Italy
Chiara Ruocco: Center for Study and Research on Obesity, Department of Biomedical Technology and Translational Medicine, University of Milan, Via Vanvitelli, 32, 20129 Milan, Italy
Sofia Aliverti: Nutrition Foundation of Italy, Viale Tunisia, 38, 20124 Milan, Italy
Marco Silano: Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
Andrea Amico: Health and Welfare Unit, Censis Foundation, Piazza di Novella, 2, 00199 Rome, Italy
Concetta M. Vaccaro: Health and Welfare Unit, Censis Foundation, Piazza di Novella, 2, 00199 Rome, Italy
Franca Marangoni: Nutrition Foundation of Italy, Viale Tunisia, 38, 20124 Milan, Italy
Alessandra Valerio: Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Brescia University, Viale Europa, 11, 25123 Brescia, Italy
Andrea Poli: Nutrition Foundation of Italy, Viale Tunisia, 38, 20124 Milan, Italy
Enzo Nisoli: Center for Study and Research on Obesity, Department of Biomedical Technology and Translational Medicine, University of Milan, Via Vanvitelli, 32, 20129 Milan, Italy

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 6, 1-15

Abstract: Over the past decades, a generalised increase in food portion sizes has probably contributed to the growing global obesity epidemic. Increasing awareness of appropriate portion sizes could contribute to reversing this trend through better control of calorie intake. In this study, a comparison of standard portion sizes in European countries for various food categories shows a wide variability of their importance for food, nutrient, and energy consumption according to government and institutional websites. On the other hand, the overall averages appear to be largely in line with the values indicated by the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, which is the most comprehensive and detailed document among those evaluated. The exceptions are milk and yoghurt, for which the reference portions in Europe are generally higher, and vegetables and legumes, for which portions are smaller than those reported in the Italian document. Moreover, the portion sizes of staple foods (e.g., pasta and potatoes) vary according to different food traditions. It is reasonable to consider that the creation of harmonised standard reference portions common to the European countries, based on international guidelines and scientific evidence, would significantly contribute to consumers’ nutritional education and ability to make informed choices for a healthy diet.

Keywords: body weight; dietary intake; food portion size; health and healthy eating; obesity; standard reference portions; European countries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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