Everyone who likes to be healthy and fit would’ve surely heard of the term “serving”. But, many wonder what is it, and for most it is still a mystery. You often see the word serving in food packing, but not sure what exactly a serving quantity is. This is worse in case of fruits and vegetables. Many ponder one serving of apple is half or one, and how many broccoli florets should I take if it is one serving. Here are few suggestions based on the Food Pyramid, which was developed by the US Department of Agriculture.

The serving size for fruits and vegetables should be ½ cup, where as for greens, it should be one cup. If it is sliced fruits, then the serving is ½ cup, where as one piece of fruit like apple and orange is counted as one serving. Fruits and vegetables are an excellent source of nutrients and are rich in vitamins A & C and potassium. They have high fiber and less sodium and fat, which might turn out be unwise for health. It is suggested to have up to 5 servings of vegetables and a maximum of 4 servings of fruits a day and this serving size would vary depending on the age. Let’s take a look at the serving size for people of different age groups.

Toddlers: For them, it is ideal to have 1 cup each of both vegetables and fruits, as they would engage in a minimum of 30 minutes physical activity.

Children (2-6): It would be good, if the children of this age group take 2 servings or 1.5 cup of fruits and 3 (or 1.5 cup) of vegetables.

Children (9 - 13): Girls belonging to this age group should intake up to 3 servings (or 2 cups) of vegetables and while boys should take up to 2.5 cups. The recommended daily fruit intake for girls is two serving or 1.5 cups and for boys, its 2 cups.

Teenage and Young Adults (14 - 18): Teenage girls should intake 1.5 cups of fruits and 2 cups of vegetables, where as for boys, it is 2 and 2.5 cups respectively.

Adults: People from 19 to 50 years of age fall under this category. For women belonging to this age group, consuming 2.5 cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruits a day would be ideal, while for men, it is 3 cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruits. The serving size for fruits and vegetables for women over 50 is 1.5 and 2 cups, and 2 and 2.5 cups respectively for men.

For those who feel eating raw vegetable and fruit is uninteresting, you can make that an interesting activity. Try making a fruit platter and vegetable platter of your required size, this way you are sure to keep up to your fitness regime.