The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating sets out how much we should eat from each of the food groups. If we eat the recommended number of “standard serves” from each food group for our age and sex, it puts us in a good position to have a healthy, balanced diet.
But what is a standard serve? And does it match what’s on our food labels?
Despite the name, standard serves are not very standard, even in the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating. Serves can be described by energy (kilojoules or kJ for short) contained in a serve, units of food such as “one medium apple”, or “one slice of bread”, by weight, or by volumes like a cup.
A “serve” is also different between each of the food groups and even within the food groups.
One serve of grains is about 500kJ. That’s one English muffin but only half a bread roll. Or it could be half a cup of porridge, one-quarter of a cup of muesli, or three-quarters of a cup of wheat cereal flakes.
One serve of dairy is 500-600kJ, which could be one cup of milk, but is only three-quarters of a cup of yoghurt, or a half cup of ricotta cheese. Hard cheeses are defined by slices, with two slices to a serve, assuming each slice is about 20g.
Serves on food labels
Nearly all packaged foods in Australia have nutrition information panels. These include information meant to help us make better food choices.
The exact information depends on the food. But they have to at least include how much energy (kJ), protein, fat (total and saturated), carbohydrates (total and sugars) and salt (sodium) is in the product. These contents are always listed twice, per 100g (100mL for liquids) and per serving.
But the serving on the label has nothing to do with the standard serves in the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating. The serving size on the label is not a recommendation on how much you should eat – it is decided by the manufacturer. It’s based on how much they expect a person to typically eat, or the unit size the product is eaten in.
This could be very different to a standard serve. For example, the labelled serving size on a chocolate bar might be “one bar” – 53g of chocolate containing 1,020kJ. But the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating says a serve is half a small bar (25g) or about 600kJ, and it’s recommended we limit discretionary food (junk food) to one serve per day.
Comparing serving sizes between brand and package sizes
In Australia, there are no rules about how these serving sizes are set. A serving might not be the same in similar products, or in different brands of the same product.
This can make products hard to compare. The serving size of a soy sauce in one brand, for example, could be one-tenth of a soy sauce made by another company.
To add to the confusion, a serving also doesn’t necessarily reflect portion size: how much a person consumes in a meal or sitting.
A 250g packet of microwave white rice, for example, might be labelled as having two 125g servings. This is because the manufacturer expects it to serve two people. But one of those labelled servings is almost two standard serves of grains.
To make it even more confusing, in the same brand of rice, a 450g family pack could be labelled as having four serves, with each serve 112g. That’s 10% smaller than the serving size in the smaller packet. But it assumes a family of four could split the pack between them in a meal. So, in this package, one labelled serving size would be the equivalent of about 1.7 standard serves of grains.
How serves on labels impact our food choices
Even though labelled serving sizes are not related to standard serves or the recommended amounts that should be eaten, research shows consumers often interpret the labelled servings as being recommendations for portion size or for following dietary guidelines.
Studies show the listed serving size impacts how much people choose to eat. Larger serving sizes on labels can make it appear that a large serve is recommended, leading to people eating or serving themselves more. This has been shown with several foods, including cookies, cereal, lasagne and cheese crackers.
But for some foods, like lollies, larger serving sizes can make them look less healthy, leading to reduced consumption or smaller portion sizes. This is likely because the large number of kilojoules stands out in the per serving data.
So what should you do?
Because serving sizes can vary by product and manufacturer, it’s easiest to use the per 100g or 100mL information, instead of the per serve information when comparing products. But think about the actual weight or volume you will consumer when you consider how it fits your daily intakes.
The recommended diet for the average adult is based on eating 8,700kJ of energy per day. To get this much energy from a balanced diet, that’s 50g protein, 70g fat and 310g carbohydrates. We also want to aim for 24g or less of saturated fats, and 30g or more of fibre.
But needs will differ by life stage, activity level, sex, your current weight and your weight goals. There are online calculators to estimate your requirements.
Memorising serving sizes and guidelines can be hard. To make it easy, you can print a copy of the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating food groups and serving sizes to keep where you can see them when preparing food.
Mwongozo wa Australia wa Kula Afya unaonyesha ni kiasi gani cha chakula kinachopaswa kuliwa. Ikiwa tunakula idadi iliyopendekezwa ya "huduma za kawaida" kutoka kwa kila kikundi cha chakula kwa umri wetu na jinsia, inatuweka katika nafasi nzuri ya kuwa na lishe yenye afya, yenye usawa. Lakini ni nini utumishi wa kawaida? Na je, inalingana na yale yaliyo kwenye vitambulisho vya vyakula vyetu? Licha ya jina hilo, huduma za kawaida si za kawaida sana, hata katika Mwongozo wa Australia wa Kula Afya. Huduma inaweza kuelezwa na nishati (kilojoules au kJ kwa kifupi) zilizomo katika huduma, vitengo vya chakula kama <unk>apples moja ya kati<unk>, au <unk>slice moja ya mkate<unk>, kwa uzito, au kwa kiasi kama kikombe. A <unk>serve<unk> pia ni tofauti kati ya kila moja ya makundi ya chakula na hata ndani ya makundi ya chakula. Kwa mfano, kwa ajili ya chakula cha mchanga, inahitajika 500 kJ. Hiyo ni muffin moja ya Kiingereza lakini ni nusu tu ya mkate. Pia, unaweza kutumia nusu kikombe cha mchuzi, robo ya kikombe cha muesli, au robo tatu ya kikombe cha mchanganyiko wa nafaka. Kwa mfano, kwa ajili ya chakula cha kawaida, unaweza kutumia 500 kJ ya maziwa, lakini kwa ajili ya chakula cha kawaida, unaweza kutumia nusu kikombe cha jibini ya ricotta. Kwa kawaida, jibini ngumu hufafanuliwa kwa vipande, na vipande viwili kwa huduma, ikidhani kila kipande ni karibu 20g. Karibu vyakula vyote vilivyopakiwa nchini Australia vina viashiria vya habari za lishe. Hizi zinatia ndani habari zinazokusudiwa kutusaidia kufanya uchaguzi bora wa chakula. Habari sahihi hutegemea chakula. Lakini lazima angalau ni pamoja na kiasi cha nishati (kJ), protini, mafuta (ya jumla na saturated), wanga (ya jumla na sukari) na chumvi (sodiamu) ni katika bidhaa. Vipimo vya kila aina vimeorodheshwa mara mbili, kwa kila 100g (kwa kila 100ml ya maji) na kwa kila portion. Lakini kuwahudumia kwenye lebo haina uhusiano wowote na kuwahudumia kiwango katika Mwongozo wa Australia wa Kula Afya. Ukubwa wa kuwahudumia kwenye lebo si pendekezo juu ya kiasi unachopaswa kula <unk> huamuliwa na mtengenezaji. Ni msingi juu ya jinsi wengi wao kutarajia mtu kwa kawaida kula, au ukubwa wa kitengo bidhaa ni kula katika. Hii inaweza kuwa tofauti sana na huduma ya kawaida. Kwa mfano, ukubwa wa kuwahudumia kwenye bar ya chokoleti inaweza kuwa <unk>bar moja <unk> 53g ya chokoleti yenye 1,020kJ. "Kulingana na mwongozo wa Australia wa Kula Afya, ""Kila kipande cha chakula ni nusu ya bar ndogo (25g) au karibu 600kJ, na inashauriwa tuwe na chakula cha bure (chakula cha ghafi) kwa huduma moja kwa siku.""" Kwa mfano, ukilinganisha ukubwa wa huduma na ukubwa wa kifurushi, hakuna sheria kuhusu jinsi ukubwa wa huduma unavyowekwa. Kiasi huenda kisikuwa sawa katika bidhaa zinazofanana, au katika bidhaa tofauti za bidhaa ileile. Hilo laweza kufanya iwe vigumu kulinganisha bidhaa. Kwa mfano, kiasi cha mchuzi wa soya unaotumiwa katika bidhaa moja chaweza kuwa sehemu ya kumi ya kiasi cha mchuzi wa soya unaotumiwa katika kampuni nyingine. Ili kuongeza mvurugo, kuwahudumia pia haionyeshi ukubwa wa sehemu: ni kiasi gani mtu hutumia katika mlo au kukaa. Kwa mfano, pakiti ya mchele mweupe wa microwave ya 250g inaweza kuandikwa kuwa na vipimo viwili vya 125g. Hii ni kwa sababu mtengenezaji anatarajia itumike kwa watu wawili. Lakini moja ya vipimo hivyo vilivyoandikwa ni karibu vipimo viwili vya kawaida vya nafaka. "Kama vile ilivyo kwa bidhaa ya mchele, pakiti ya familia ya 450g inaweza kutajwa kama ""kila huduma ina 112g.""" Hiyo ni 10% ndogo kuliko ukubwa wa kuwahudumia katika pakiti ndogo. Lakini inadhani familia ya watu wanne inaweza kugawanya kundi kati yao katika mlo mmoja. Kwa hivyo, katika kifurushi hiki, ukubwa mmoja wa kuwahudumia unaoonyeshwa utakuwa sawa na karibu 1.7 servings za kawaida za nafaka. Hata ingawa ukubwa wa kuwahudumia unaoonyeshwa hauhusiani na kiwango cha kawaida au kiasi kinachopendekezwa cha chakula, utafiti unaonyesha watumiaji mara nyingi hufafanua vipimo vilivyoonyeshwa kama mapendekezo ya ukubwa wa sehemu au kufuata miongozo ya lishe. Uchunguzi unaonyesha kwamba ukubwa wa mlo unaotajwa huathiri kiasi ambacho watu huchagua kula. Ukubwa mkubwa wa kuwahudumia kwenye lebo unaweza kuonekana kuwa huduma kubwa inapendekezwa, na kusababisha watu kula au kujitumikia zaidi. Hii imeonyeshwa na vyakula kadhaa, ikiwa ni pamoja na biskuti, nafaka, lasagna na biskuti za jibini. Lakini kwa baadhi ya vyakula, kama vile lollies, ukubwa mkubwa wa kuwahudumia unaweza kuwafanya kuonekana chini ya afya, na kusababisha kupunguzwa kwa matumizi au ukubwa mdogo wa sehemu. Hii ni uwezekano kwa sababu idadi kubwa ya kilojoules inasimama nje katika data kwa kuwahudumia. Kwa hiyo unapaswa kufanya nini? Kwa sababu ukubwa wa kuwahudumia unaweza kutofautiana kulingana na bidhaa na mtengenezaji, ni rahisi kutumia kila 100g au 100ml habari, badala ya kila huduma habari wakati wa kulinganisha bidhaa. Fikiria uzito au kiasi cha chakula unachokula kila siku. Kwa mfano, chakula cha wastani cha mtu mzima kinapaswa kuwa na kiwango cha 8,700kJ ya nishati kwa siku. Kwa kuongeza, chakula cha kawaida kinaweza kuwa na kiasi cha nishati cha 50g ya protini, 70g ya mafuta na 310g ya wanga. Kwa mfano, unaweza kuwa na 24g au chini ya mafuta ya saturated na 30g au zaidi ya nyuzi. Lakini mahitaji yatatofautiana kulingana na hatua ya maisha, kiwango cha shughuli, jinsia, uzito wako wa sasa na malengo yako ya uzito. Kuna kompyuta za kuhesabu zinazotumiwa mtandaoni ili kukadiria mahitaji yako. Inaweza kuwa vigumu kukumbuka vipimo vya chakula na miongozo. Kwa mfano, unaweza kuchapisha kitabu cha Australia Guide to Healthy Eating na kuweka vipimo vya chakula mahali unapoweza kuona wakati wa kutayarisha chakula.