The amount of banku one can eat is not one egg size. The evidence does not support this assertion.
In the case of banku, the Ghana Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDG) specifies one (1) large hen egg size for a serving and 3.5 large hen egg sizes (about 1 medium orange size) as the portion size for a healthy adult while indicating that, portions can either increase or decrease depending on individual nutritional needs or health goals.
The Ghana Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (GAND) is the country’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals, which promote a supportive environment through education to achieve optimal nutrition for all Ghanaians.
The Academy has observed with great worry the social media uproar in the past few days about an inaccurate poster on how much banku an average Ghanaian can consume. The poster purports that “the size of banku shouldn’t be bigger than the size of an egg”.
The Academy’s main aim in this communique is to enlighten Ghanaians on portions and serving sizes concerning optimal health and wellbeing and reassure the public of GAND’s commitment to providing the most credible source of nutrition and food information as applies to health and disease in Ghana.
Over the past decades, a generalized increase in food portion sizes has possibly contributed to the growing global obesity epidemic. According to FBDG, the diets of Ghanaians are changing rapidly. There is increased consumption of dietary calories from energy-dense foods, high salt and fat foods, and sugar-sweetened beverages.
These changing diets and lifestyles are closely linked with chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease and cancers. Indeed, about 65% of deaths in Ghana are associated with these chronic diseases, with heart diseases and diabetes taking the lead.
One of the major risk factors of these diseases that can be modified is unhealthy diets and consumption of large portion sizes of meals which lead to overweight and obesity. Several interventional studies acknowledge the important role appropriate portion sizes could contribute to reversing and addressing obesity and chronic disease management.
A healthy diet consists of the amount and type of food that is consumed, that provides nutrients that help to protect against malnutrition in all its forms, as well as chronic diseases.
A key part of a healthier lifestyle is to integrate a variety of foods in the right amounts into your daily regimen. When it comes to deciding how much to eat, serving sizes and portion sizes are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. A serving size is a standardized amount of food, used to quantify recommended amounts, or represent quantities that people typically consume on a Nutrition Facts label. While Portion size is the amount of food you choose to eat at any one time which may be more or less than a serving.
Thus, eating too much or not enough of any type of food can increase your risk of health problems. Portion sizes are individualized, tailored to meet your nutritional needs, and not a one -sized fits all. The recommended portion size depends on your age, sex, body size, health, and activity level.
The Academy assures Ghanaians of the continuous commitment of members to provide expert guidance on food and nutrition to promote health, prevent and manage conditions through individualized counselling, education, and evidence-based interventions. Always contact your dietitian or nutritionist whenever in doubt.