USA Today reports on a study by Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity saying that “cereals marketed to kids have 85% more sugar, 65% less fiber and 60% more sodium than those aimed at adults.”
Among the items reported in the study:
“The least nutritious cereals are often the most heavily marketed to children. Among them: Reese's Puffs, Corn Pops, Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Cap'n Crunch.”
“The major cereal companies have products that received good nutrition marks, but not many of those are advertised to children.”
“Companies have dropped the average sugar content of kids' cereals, from 3½ teaspoons to 3 teaspoons of sugar a serving.”
“The average preschooler sees 642 TV cereal ads a year; most are for types with the worst nutrition ratings. Cereal companies spend more than $156 million a year marketing to children.”
“Some of the products with the poorest nutrition ratings have health claims on the boxes.”
Among the items reported in the study:
“The least nutritious cereals are often the most heavily marketed to children. Among them: Reese's Puffs, Corn Pops, Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Cap'n Crunch.”
“The major cereal companies have products that received good nutrition marks, but not many of those are advertised to children.”
“Companies have dropped the average sugar content of kids' cereals, from 3½ teaspoons to 3 teaspoons of sugar a serving.”
“The average preschooler sees 642 TV cereal ads a year; most are for types with the worst nutrition ratings. Cereal companies spend more than $156 million a year marketing to children.”
“Some of the products with the poorest nutrition ratings have health claims on the boxes.”
- KC's View:
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These findings largely are why some manufacturers have gotten into trouble with nutrition types...because it seems as if they are targeting kids with less than wholesome options and cloaking what they are doing in false or misleading claims. They aren’t helping kids, and ultimately they may be hurting the long term credibility of their companies.
