Bonbons For Breakfast? Most Kid Cereals Pack Enough Sugar To Be Dessert

Well, golly, how could this be. After all, the fact that the executives at these companies are extremely rich proves that they are splendid people, providing a desirable public service, doesn't it?

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2011/12/07/143270513/bonbons-for-breakfast-most-kid-cereals-pack-enough-sugar-to-be-dessert?sc=fb&cc=fp

December 7, 2011
by Allison Aubrey

To many a mom, you can't go much lower than a Twinkie. The famous snack sort of epitomizes nutritional bankruptcy.

So now we learn that breakfast cereals such as Kellogg's Honey Smacks are even worse — in terms of sugar content — than a Twinkie. One cup of the cereal has 20 grams of sugar, compared with 18 grams in the cake. (The recommended serving size on the label is three-fourths of a cup.) Well, that gets our attention.

A new report by the Environmental Working Group finds that that vast majority of popular cereals marketed to kids — 56 out of the 84 EWG looked at — don't meet the voluntary guidelines proposed earlier this year by the federal Interagency Working Group on Food Marketed to Children.

[I would call that a solid majority, rather than a vast majority]

The top offenders, including Honey Smacks, Apple Jacks, Froot Loops, and Quaker Cap'n Crunch, all contain more than 41 percent sugar (by weight). The guidelines, meanwhile, for ready-to-eat cereals recommend no more than 26 percent added sugar by weight.

[And the guidelines themselves seem pretty lax.]

And sugar isn't the only concern. EWG also found in its evaluation of 84 cereals that many also contain more sodium and fewer whole grains than the guidelines call for.

[...]

A study by Yale University's Rudd Center have found cereal makers spend upwards of $150 million annually marketing to children just on television. And, overall, the cereals have more sugar, calories and sodium than non-kid cereals, and less fiber and protein, according to the Rudd Center.

[...]

So which cereals get A's? "Shredded Wheat, Multi-Grain Cheerios: products that have just a few ingredients, and just a little sugar," says Weingarten.

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