The NHLBI (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) states: A 'portion' can be thought of as the amount of a specific food you choose to eat for dinner, snack, or other eating occasion. Portions, of course can be bigger or smaller than the recommended food servings.

A 'serving' is a unit of measure used to describe the amount of food recommended from each food group. It is the amount of food listed on the Nutrition Facts panel on packaged food or the amount of food recommended in the Food Guide Pyramid and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Cognition and fitness
A study of more than 18,000 women, ages 70 to 81 from the Harvard School of Public Health concluded that the more active we are, the better our cognition“, reports the HealthDayNews. “There is evidence that better cardiovascular health is related to better cognitive function. Physical activity also appears to have a direct effect on the brain itself,“ Jennifer Weuve told HealthDayNews. “It appears to promote the production of chemicals in the brain, called nerve growth factors, that improve the brain cells' survival and growth.“

Fact: If 10% of adults began a regular walking program, $5.6 billion in heart disease costs could be saved.
- Centers for Disease Control

Fact: A 10% weight loss will reduce an overweight person's lifetime medical costs by $2,200-$5,300.
- Centers for Disease Control

“More than 20 percent of adult Oregonians are obese and 38 percent more are overweight. Our youth are in trouble too. Rates of overweight among teens in Oregon have tripled in the past 20 years. This obesity epidemic threatens to destroy the gains we've made in preventing heart disease, stroke and certain cancers. Obesity is a public health crisis, it will take more than willpower to reduce the trend. “
- Mel Kohn, M.D., Oregon Dept. of Human Services, 2003

“If exercise were a pill, it would be the best-selling medication in the world.“
- Miriam Nelson, director of Tufts University's Center for Physical Fitness - TIME Magazine Archive Article -- Catch-Up Fitness -- Jun. 02, 2003

“We don't have a cut-off mechanism for eating. Our bodies tell us, 'Fat is good to eat but hard to get' “
- Rutgers University anthropologist Lionel Tiger ... TIME Magazine: Obesity How We Grew So Big -- June 7, 2004

According to a recent study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, when overweight people lose just a modest amount of weight, significant cardiac benefits are possible.

People who eat fast food frequently are more likely to gain weight and develop insulin resistance, and such eating habits may increase the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes, which suggests to Dr. David Ludwig, from Children' Hospital in Boston, that fast food cannot be part of a healthful diet.

Fact: It's hard to judge the calories in food. For instance, a can of regular soda can have more sugar than a slice of cake!
- Centers for Disease Control

Fact: Housework, at a moderate level of exertion, can burn up to 300 calories an hour.
- Centers for Disease Control

Fact: You need to burn 3,500 calories to lose a pound of body weight.
- Centers for Disease Control

“Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.“
- Henry David Thoreau

“I have two doctors, my left leg and my right.“
- G.M. Trevelyan

“True enjoyment comes from activity of the mind and exercise of the body; the two are united.“
- Alexander von Humboldt

“Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.“
- Edward Stanley

“Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person's physical, emotional, and mental states.“
- Carol Welch

“Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walking very far.“
- Thomas Jefferson

“Thoughts come clearly while one walks.“
- Thomas Mann

“To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.“
- La Rochefoucauld

“For the record, 10% of the French are obese, compared with 33% of Americans.“
- Time, Jan. 24, 2005, "How the Petite Eat", Andrea Sachs