Amid mounting pressure from consumer groups and food policy researchers, the makers of kids’ cereals have finally started cleaning up their act–but not enough. According to a new report by Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, cereals made and marketed for children have reduced the amount of added sugar in their products, and added in more nutritious ingredients, like actual whole grains. Unfortunately, despite what the cereal companies and their allies will tell you, there’s still a fundamental difference between “better” and actually “healthy.”
According to a spokesperson for the Council of Better Business Bureaus’ Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative who spoke to Reuters, since the voluntary program’s foundation, most breakfast cereals marketed to children have substantially reduced the amount of added sugar in their products–from about 16 grams to closer to 10 grams per serving. Which is OK, but definitely doesn’t deserve any kind of medal.
First, children who aren’t super active are recommended to get fewer than 20 grams of sugar per day–which means if the kid eats just one serving of the “better” cereal, they’ve already gotten half the recommended amount. And that’s assuming that they don’t have it with milk (which has 13 grams of sugar in one cup of 1%), or have more than one serving (usually about a cup). Do you know of any kids who have just a cup of dry cereal for breakfast? Neither do it.
Which means that breakfast cereal, while “better,” isn’t actually a healthy choice for everyday consumption yet. Sure, there are some added whole grains which increase the amount of fiber, and yes, many cereals are now fortified with vitamins and other nutrients–but that just makes them fortified junk food, like soda with calcium in it.
Unfortunately, these claims of fortification and being “better” often mislead parents into thinking that they’re making a smart choice for their kid. Claims like “all natural” (which is basically unregulated), “a good source of fiber” and other positive descriptors are more likely to convince parents to buy cereals for their kids–despite the fact that they’re still loaded with sugar.
Unfortunately, kids’ cereals are still a staple for many American families–particularly those living in food deserts or low-access areas, and for those who are food-insecure. But food manufacturers, marketers, and vendors seem more concerned with misleading parents and preying on consumers (because truly, when you convince a single working mother that a cereal is “better” for her kid, when in fact, it is not, that is preying) than actually making healthy products that don’t lead to childhood diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.
Sorry, cereal people–”better” isn’t good enough yet.
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