Table 1.

Food models used to estimate food portion sizes in food diary

Model/shape	Range of sizes	Example of types of foods models could be used for
Bread-shaped slices	7 different size slices of differing thicknesses	Bread, lasagne, shepherd’s pie
Sticks	5 different lengths	Carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, green beans, sliced pepper
Chips	Normal cut and French fries	Chips
Spheres	5 sizes	Apples, oranges, potatoes, tomatoes
Pie wedges	12 sizes	Pie, cake, pizza
Sausage-shaped oblongs	5 sizes	Sausages, carrots
Biscuit shapes	10 common sizes/shapes	Biscuits, cake bars
Rectangular oblongs	10 sizes	Cheese slices, cake bars, chocolate
Small oval shapes	11 sizes	Sauces such as ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, salad cream. Peas, tomato slices, cucumber slices
Large oval shapes	16 sizes	Used to show how much the food covered the plate. Can be piled to show height of food on plate. For foods such as baked beans, pasta sauce, pasta, curry, rice.
Spoons	5 sizes: serving spoon, tablespoon, dessertspoon, soup spoon and teaspoon	Jam, mayonnaise, sauces, vegetables, baked beans, grated cheese
Cups	3 different sizes with graded sides to indicate fill level	Tea, coffee, other drinks
Glasses	5 different sizes with graded sides to indicate fill level	Any drink
Bowls	2 different sizes with graded sides to indicate fill level	Soup, cereals, pasta, rice