The Fine Print on Breakfast Cereals

Consumer Reports has conducted a study of 27 breakfast cereals, to be published in the November issue of the magazine, rating each cereal on its nutritional content. Cheerios, Kix and Life came out on top for having relatively low amounts of sugar and fair or substantial quantities of fiber, iron and calcium. But most of the other cereals had low ratings, with a majority of them containing 40 to 50 percent sugar. Also worth keeping in mind is the fact that Consumer Reports calculated its ratings based on the suggested serving size, but researchers found that kids consistently serve themselves 50 to 65 percent more than that amount.

Another interesting finding of the study, which looked at cereals in 32 nations, was that several brands sold in the United States had more a lot more sugar than the same brands sold in some other countries. Honey Smacks, for example, was found to have 55 percent sugar in the U.S.A. and a less sweet 40 percent sugar content in the version of the product that is shipped to stores in Germany, Switzerland and Slovenia.

Past research has indicated the alarming fact that marketing plays a major role in this issue, and according to Consumer Reports' figures, $229 million is spent per year on advertising cereals to kids. Our survey on issues facing parents today, A Lot Easier Said Than Done, found that 68 percent say it's "absolutely essential" for their kids to have good nutrition and eating habits, but only 40 percent say they have succeeded on that front. In fact, nine out of ten parents tell us that their children eat junk food, and 21 percent say they eat it "constantly." Among parents' biggest worries are the impact of negative messages in the media, though parents are evenly split on worrying about whether their child watches too much TV.