The Verdict on Sugar in Children’s Cereal
Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom Breakfast is a healthy start for everyone’s day, particularly for kids. Studies show it supports school performance and a healthy weight. And a bowl of cold cereal and milk is a quick and easy meal for breakfast or any time of day. A new report by the Environmental Working Group reviews 84 popular brands of children’s cereals and reveals several eye-popping comparisons of the sugar content in popular cookies and snack cakes. Three cereals – Kellogg’s Honey Smacks, Post Golden Crisp, and General Mills Wheaties Fuel – contain 56% sugar by weight, with 20 grams of sugar in a skimpy 1-cup serving. That’s a whopping 5 teaspoons of sugar – roughly the same as one Twinkie snack cake. A single 1-cup bowl of an additional 44 cereals, including the popular General Mills Honey Nut Cheerios, Kellogg’s Apple Jacks, and Quaker Oats Cap’n Crunch, is equivalent to eating 3 Chips Ahoy! cookies – about 3 teaspoons of sugar. Many tasty lower-sugar options are available to choose fro...