Do your kids eat cereal for breakfast? If so, how much SUGAR is in that bowl of cocoa puffs?
United Press International is reporting on a new study of 1,500 cereals sold in the US. 181 of those cereals are marketed to kids, and researchers found that if kids eat one bowl of cereal a day, they will end up eating more than 10 pounds of added sugar a year!
According the study, cereals marketed to children with cartoon characters on the box were among the most highly sweetened. 75% of those cereals averaged 2 teaspoons of sugar per serving.
In fact, a typical serving of cereal marketed to children can contain as much sugar as three Chips Ahoy! or two Keebler Fudge Stripe cookies.
On average, 34 percent of the calories in children's cereals came from sugar.
Another new study is out on kids and smoking—in particular, kids who have PARENTS who smoke.
Researchers at the Georgetown Cancer Center found that the more a child is exposed to parental smoking, the more likely that child is to smoke themselves—in fact, they are more likely to become a heavy smoker.
The study found the more years a child was exposed to a parent's smoking, the greater they would start smoking or experimenting with cigarettes as a teen
Lead researcher Darren Mays says "We believe social learning plays an important role in intergenerational smoking.”
Dr. Mays says the good news is that since parental modeling is so powerful, kids can also learn that it is possible -- and wise -- to quit.
I’m Bill Maier for WBCL.