Comparison of food portion sizes across Europe

An Italian study recently compared standard portion sizes for different food categories in European countries. The study identifies a wide variation between countries regarding its importance for food, nutrient and energy consumption.

The study has been published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Study: Role of Portion Size in the Context of a Healthy and Balanced Diet: A Case Study of European Countries. Image Credit: Joseph Ludwig Stephens / Shutterstock

Background

The size of a meal portion generally refers to the amount of food an individual intends to consume at a meal event. In Italy, a serving is defined as “the quantity of a food that is supposed to be a recognized and identifiable reference unit both by nutrition professionals and the general public”.

Several national and international organizations have included the size of the food portion among the determinants of dietary balance. Recently, the British Nutrition Foundation, together with the European Union, has prepared a guide to specify the importance of food choices, as well as portion sizes in the development of a healthy and balanced diet.

There is evidence showing the association between the size of the food portion and being overweight or obese. In both the United States and European countries, a progressive increase in portion sizes of specific foods has been found to be associated with an increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity.

In the current study, the scientists compared standard portion sizes of different food categories across European countries.

Study design

The study used information on food portion sizes from online documents published by government agencies or scientific societies in several Member States of the European Region of the World Health Organization (WHO). A total of 34 countries were considered in the analysis, including 24 European Union countries and 10 non-European Union countries.

The study focused primarily on institutional documents that provide information on portion sizes for the adult population as reference standards. The reference serving sizes refer to the values ​​indicated by the Italian Society of Human Nutrition.

important remarks

Analysis of the minimum and maximum values ​​of portion sizes calculated for the selected countries revealed significant variation in portion sizes within the same food category. In contrast, analysis of the mean values ​​of portion sizes calculated separately for European Union and non-European Union countries revealed the presence of some homogeneity between the two groups of countries.

Taking reference standards into account, the analysis revealed that the average portion sizes calculated for the selected countries are comparable to the reference values ​​defined by the Italian Society of Human Nutrition. However, some exceptions were noted in the analysis.

A serving size below the Italian reference values ​​was observed for nuts, potatoes, vegetables, legumes, fish and fresh cheese. In contrast, milk and breakfast cereals showed higher serving sizes compared to Italian reference values.

Comparison of food portion sizes in European countries

Analysis of available documents identified differences and similarities in food portion sizes in selected European countries.

While in Slovenia a lower serving size was observed for bread (15 g), in Iceland, Serbia and Switzerland the opposite was observed (100 g). In Italy and seven other countries, the serving size was 50 g.

The serving size for pasta, rice, corn, barley, and spelt was 80 g in Italy, Germany, Malta, Norway, Spain, and Sweden. Compared to this value, a larger serving size was observed in several countries, including Belgium and Turkey. In other countries, including Portugal and Estonia, a relatively lower serving size was observed.

For fresh fruits, a serving size of 150g was observed in Italy and 12 other countries. For vegetables, an average serving size of 160 g was observed in several countries. In addition, two reference portions of 100 g and 200 g were observed in seven countries.

For red meat, the Italian reference value of 100 g was closely related to the overall average value calculated for the selected countries. For fish, the overall average value was 110 g. However, in Italy, Norway and Spain, a relatively larger serving size was observed for fish.

Importance of the study

The study highlights the need to develop harmonized standard reference servings to help consumers contextualize the consumption of foods with different nutritional characteristics in an overall balanced diet.