By Martha Filipic, Editor

I enjoy eating out but I also know I need to keep portion sizes under control. Any hints?

You're correct to be concerned. Restaurant portion sizes are often much larger than the serving sizes in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Guide Pyramid.

For example, officially, one serving of bagels is equal to about 2 ounces, but just try to find a restaurant bagel under 4 ounces. One official serving of salad dressing is 2 tablespoons, but restaurants typically put about twice as much on your otherwise perfectly healthful salad. And portions of meat, chicken or fish can really go overboard: An official serving is 2 to 3 ounces, but restaurants often serve 12, 16, 20 ounces or more on a single plate.

Unfortunately, most Americans just don't get it. According to a recent survey by the American Institute of Cancer Research, 62 percent of the consumers surveyed thought that the portions served in restaurants are the same size or smaller compared to 10 years ago. That's despite trends in fast food restaurants toward "super-sizing" everything and in full-service restaurants of replacing 10.5-inch plates with 12-inch plates.

Don't place all the blame on the food industry, though. Restaurants only sell what consumers want. If consumers think value-sized bargains are more important than portion control, then restaurants will continue serving them.

But for now, you can do a few things to keep control even when eating out:

• Ask for half or smaller portions, even if you have to pay the regular price.
  
  
• As soon as you're served, separate the food on your plate into "eat now" and "take home" portions, and ask for a take-home container immediately.
  
  
• Order one main dish and split it between two people.
  
  
• Order soup and/or an appetizer as your main meal.
  
  
• Ask for toppings and dressings to be served on the side.
  
  
• Resist the urge to join the "clean plate club." Leaving food on your plate isn't a crime.
  
  
• Order smaller sandwiches or kids' meals.
  
  
• Mention to your server that you'd prefer smaller portions, and lower prices if possible, rather than the other way around.

Chow Line is a service of The Ohio State University. Send questions to Chow Line, c/o Martha Filipic, 2021 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH 43210-1044, or filipic.3@osu.edu.