Portion Demonstration

Carly Lewis

October 9, 2014

Portion size is one thing that many students have difficulty with when they first get to

college. Many dining halls operate with an “all-you-care-to-eat” design which can be

overwhelming and exciting for students,

especially those who have never had this much

freedom with their food before. Educating

these students on the importance of portion

control is beneficial for everyone involved. It

helps students live a healthy lifestyle and avoid

overeating and weight gain. This also helps the dining facilities because when students take

what they know they can eat, there is less food wasted and less money spent on food that will

not be used.

Portion sizes are often difficult to understand because many people cannot accurately

visualize what one cup of food looks like or three ounces of another food. Creating a portion

size education demonstration for the guests of

the dining hall that was both visually appealing

and relevant was the main focus. One of the

main concerns is that the “normal” portion

sizes have increased over the years, which

makes it even more challenging for consumers

to select appropriate sizes. This portion demonstration utilized that information to display the

difference in average portion sizes during the last twenty years.

Pizza, french fries, and soda were selected for the display because they are among the

most commonly chosen foods in and out of the dining hall. An average portion from 20 years

ago was plated next to an average portion at this

time. Small signs were placed in front of each plate

that listed the portion size and calories for each dish.

The sign in front of the “now” portion also had the

calorie difference between the two listed. Guests

were asked to guess the difference in calories between the two, and then lift up the card flap to

see if they were close or not. They were then told an approximation of how much physical

activity would be required to work off the excess calories.

Pizza French Fries SodaActual Difference

(calories)350 400 165

Guesses

65 300 200100 250 100200 350 160200 360 7575 300 100

160 200 200300 300 150210 200 10080 210 12070 275 200

100*blue – within 50 calories of actual difference

No student was able to correctly guess the calorie difference between the two portion

sizes. Some of the guesses were close (within 50 calories) but most of them were not. The

students did a much better job determining the difference in calories when it came to the soda

but were very far off with the pizza and french fries. Many students were shocked to find out

just how many calories were in the slices of pizza

and some of them commented that they could

easily eat the larger portion without thinking much

of it. A few of the students continued to look at the

other portion sizes after they made their initial

guess. They stated that it wasn’t something that

they thought of when they made their choices, but that they would definitely pay more

attention to it now. Overall, the students found it helpful to see the food layed out and have

the opportunity to see the differences.