Eating choices: what is a serving?

The official guidelines suggest how many servings should be eaten per day from each food group. The recommendations are expressed as ranges, to cater for different energy needs.

The lower number in each group found in the below table applies to people with low energy requirements, such as older adults and sedentary people; the higher number in each group is appropriate for teenage boys, active men, and very active women.

Servings versus portions

You may wonder whether these servings are the same size as the food portions served at home or in restaurants. They are not. Recommended servings are of a fixed, standard quantity, while portion sizes are variable. However, many people tend to eat particularly large portions of food and as a consequence have high rates of obesity.

It is a good idea to start thinking of food portions in terms of these standard serving sizes because this will help you maintain a healthy weight and eat less if you are trying to lose weight.

Food group	Daily servings	What is one serving?
Bread, cereal, rice, pasta, and potatoes	5–14 servings	1 slice wholemeal bread 1 egg-sized potato 3 tbsp breakfast cereal 2 heaped tbsp cooked pasta or rice
Vegetables	2–3 servings (as part of the min 5-a-day)	1 medium-sized mixed salad 3–4 tbsp cooked vegetables 150ml (5floz) vegetable juice
Fruit	2–3 servings (as part of the min 5-a-day)	1 medium fresh fruit (eg banana) 2 satsumas or kiwi fruit 7 strawberries 150ml (5floz) fruit juice
Milk, yogurt, and cheese	2–3 servings	200ml (7floz) semi-skimmed milk 150g (5oz) low-fat yogurt 125g (4 ½ oz) cottage cheese 40g (1 ½ oz) hard cheese
Meat, poultry, fish, pulses, nuts, seeds, and eggs	2–3 servings	85–100g (3–3 ½ oz) cooked poultry, fish, or lean red meat 3–4 tbsp cooked dried beans 2 eggs 2 tbsp peanut butter 3 tbsp nuts or seeds