Portion Control

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More and more children are overweight or obese. Being overweight increases your child's risk for type 2 diabetes. The good news is that losing a small amount of weight can lower risk. If your child has diabetes and is overweight, losing weight can help lower blood glucose levels. If your child is trying to lose weight, calories count. That doesn't mean your child has to cut out favorite foods. But it is a good idea to reduce serving sizes. Your child can include favorite foods in a healthy meal and still lose weight.

What should my child eat?

If your child has diabetes, it's a good idea to work with his health care team to develop a meal plan that is right for him. A meal plan will help guide what your child eats. Here are a few tips to get you started.

• Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day (include a variety of colors such as green, yellow, orange, and red)
  
  
• Aim for six servings of breads, cereals, and starchy vegetables (starchy vegetables include peas, corn, potatoes, and dried beans such as pinto or kidney beans)
  
  
• Choose two - three servings of low-fat dairy products like skim or 1% milk or non-fat yogurt
  
  
• Choose lean meats, chicken, and fish (Pick meats without visible fat and remove skin from chicken and other poultry. Try to include two - three servings of fish a week. Avoid fried meats.)
  
  
• Cut back on sweets and desserts (most desserts are high in calories and do not contain many vitamins and minerals)

How much?

A Serving Of	Equals
Fresh fruit or vegetables	1 cup
Canned fruit or cooked vegetables	1/2 cup
Starchy vegetables or dried beans	1/2 cup
Bread	1 slice
Dry cereal	3/4 cup
Cooked cereal	1/2 cup
Rice or pasta	1/3 cup
Dairy products	1 cup
Lean meats, chicken & fish	3 ounces
Oil, margarine, or butter	1 teaspoon

Portion Size Tips

Here are some tips to help you and your child with portion sizes.

• A 1/2 cup serving of canned fruit, vegetables, or potatoes looks like half a tennis ball sitting on your plate
• 3 ounces of meat, fish, or chicken is about the size of a deck of playing cards or the palm of your hand
• A 1 ounce serving of cheese is about the size of your thumb
• A 1 cup serving of milk, yogurt, or fresh greens is about the size of your fist
• 1 teaspoon of oil is about the size of your thumb tip

Restaurant Tips

Restaurants usually serve very large portions. Try these tips to cut calories.

• Eat only half a meal and take the other half home
• Split an entrée or dessert with a friend or family member
• Ask for substitutions (for example ask for steamed vegetables or a salad, instead of French fries)
• Ask for all sauces, dressings, and gravy on the side
• Order an appetizer or salad as your main course

Busting Food Myths

Eating too much fat does not make you fat. Eating or drinking too many calories makes you fat. But it is smart to limit the fat you eat. Fat has more than twice as many calories as carbohydrates or protein. Everyone should limit saturated fat, which can raise your cholesterol.

Too much sugar is not the problem. The problem is eating too much food -- all types of food -- especially foods high in calories. Too much sugar does not "give" you diabetes. Eating sugar does not cause diabetes. Eating or drinking too many calories can make you overweight, and overweight is a leading risk factor for type 2 diabetes.

If it's fat free, you still need to watch the portion size. Fat-free foods still have calories, often as many as their full-fat versions ... and those calories count just as much. The same is true for sugar-free foods. You can compare the calories in a fat-free or sugar-free food to the "regular" version.

Foods labeled "no sugar added" can still have sugar. This only means that no table sugar has been added. "No sugar added" foods may naturally contain other types of sugar that your body uses just like table sugar. And they may have just as many calories. Eating protein does not build muscle. Bigger muscles come from muscle-building exercise. The average American diet contains more protein than it needs to build and maintain muscle.

You do not need to eat food in special combinations to digest it properly. A healthy diet doesn't require eating a certain combination of foods at each meal. Eating a wide variety of foods during the day is the key to a healthy diet.

It is possible to lose weight and keep it off. Many people who lose weight gain it back. But many others are able to keep it off. People who have kept weight off for a long time say these tips helped them.

• cutting back on calories and fat
• exercising almost every day
• eating breakfast
• writing down what they eat to keep tabs on what they eat

Resources

Portion Distortion: Learn how to avoid holiday weight gain by watching portion sizes
During the holiday season, when gatherings and even shopping trips are often centered on food, weight gain can seem unavoidable. But watching portion sizes can help prevent those extra pounds. New additions to the Portion Distortion Interactive Quiz section of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Web site show the difference in size and calories between portions offered 20 years ago and what is often a standard serving today.