Cost and affordability of a healthy diet for urban populations in Thailand and the Philippines before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Table 1 Recommended diet for adult workers in Thailand for three alternative physical activity levels

Food group	Serving unit	Amount per serving (g)	Servings per physical activity level (kcal/day)
Food group	Serving unit	Amount per serving (g)	1,600	2,000	2,400
Cereals and cereal products	Rice serving spoon	60	8	10	12
Meat, meat products, eggs, seeds, nuts and pulses	Tablespoon	15	6	9	12
Vegetables, herbs and spices	Rice serving spoon	40	4 (6)	5	6
Fruit	Portion	Depends on type and size	3 (4)	4	5
Milk	Cup	200	2 (1)	1	1
Fat, sugar, and salt	Teaspoon (fat & oil)	4–5	5	7	9
Fat, sugar, and salt	Teaspoon (sugar)	4–5	4	6	8

Source: Sirichakwal et al. [39]
1,600 kcal is advised for children, sedentary women, and elderly; 2,000 kcal is advised for teenagers, young adults, and office working men; 2,400 kcal is advised for those who need more energy such as laborers, farmers, athletes. Portion numbers in parenthesis are recommended for adults. For fruit, we use 120 g per serving which is almost similar to 100 g per serving recommended by Dizon et al. [40] and 100 g suggested by Mahrt et al. [36]

ISSN: 1471-2458