How to work out portion sizes

Eating the right amount of food is as important as eating the right types of foods. Eating too much or not enough of any type of food can increase your risk of health problems.

For each food group (fruits and vegetables, dairy, etc) there are recommendations for how much of each you should be eating. It's common for the recommended portion sizes of certain foods to be listed in grams.

Eating the correct size portion doesn't mean weighing everything you eat. But it can be helpful to familiarise yourself with what a portion is.

How to measure a portion

There are many ways to measure what is the correct portion to be eating. One way is to use household items such as spoons and cups.

Another way is to use your hands to help you work out suitable portion sizes for each of the food groups. The example image on this page demonstrates this.

Here is a rough guide to portion sizes using your hands as a measure.

Fruit and vegetables

• A portion of fruit should fit in the palm of your hand
• A portion of vegetables should fit in the palms of both hands

Starchy foods (carbohydrates)

• A portion of starchy food (carbohydrates) should fit in the palm of your hand

Meat, fish and beans

• A portion of red meat should fit in the palm of your hand
• A portion of fish or chicken should be the size of your hand
• A portion of beans should fit in the palm of your hand

Dairy and alternatives

• A portion of cheese should be the length of two fingers
• A portion of butter should be the size of your fingertip

Further information

There are other resources around portion sizes that you may find useful:

• The British Heart Foundation has a portion size guide to help you with each of the food groups. 
• The Eatwell Guide contains information recommended by the NHS and Public Health England. It has particularly good information on fruit and vegetable portion sizes.
• The Association for Dieticians has a visual guide to show what each portion may look like.  
• Bupa Healthcare also have a resource on portion size for all food groups. It includes photographs of what each portion should look like.