Kid’s Cereals Are Even More Unhealthy Than Ever
Remember your childhood days of waking up in the morning and going to the cabinet that had all your favorite breakfast cereals? if you were like most American kids, those…
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Remember your childhood days of waking up in the morning and going to the cabinet that had all your favorite breakfast cereals?
if you were like most American kids, those cereals were certainly not very healthy for you. With brands like sugar, smacks, Captain crunch, Froot Loops, and count chocolate just the name a few. The last thing on your mind was healthy eating.
Some people are old enough to recall actually reaching for the sugar bowl to put it on your Cheerios. Of course, this was before there was honey nut Cheerios, which certainly amped up the sugar and sweetness.
it was the rare child who enjoyed healthy cereals like shredded wheat and grape nuts. Those cereals were billed as healthy and for more mature tastes. If you wanted to be athletic, you would reach for a box of Wheaties which always featured the biggest sports stars of the times.
Before Bruce Jenner became Kaitlyn Jenner. He won the Decathalon in the 1976 Olympics and promptly found himself on the box of Wheaties.
So how is it that in this day and age of nutritional information that is literally inundating us from everywhere, has cereal gotten less healthy?
A surprising survey on the poor quality of cereals
According to a study published by the American Medical Association, kids' breakfast cereals have gotten even less healthy over the past 15 years.
They looked at the newly-launched cereals between 2010 and 2023, and found significant increases in fat, sodium, and sugar . . . and decreases in protein and fiber content.
Compared to 2010, total fat per serving increased 33.6% . . . sodium content increased by 32.1% . . . and sugar by 10.9%.
In fact, the average amount of added sugar is so high that a single serving of children's cereal is more than 45% of the American Heart Association's total daily recommended limit for children. In hour #1 of them being awake.
The study didn't include the classic stuff . . . they only considered 1,200 children's cereals that were newly-launched in that timeframe. Yes, there were almost 100 new cereals every year, in those 13 years.
They did include existing brands that re-launched with a new flavor . . . new formulation . . . or even new packaging.
If you are a parent of young children, who consume children, cereal, you need to be more aware than ever of what they are eating. Don’t fall for gimmicky advertising that tries to convince you that eating this much sugar and carbs is part of a complete breakfast.
