How to Decode Sugar Cereals

Over the past few years childhood obesity has risen at an alarming rate. There are many reasons why, but at the center is poor diet and lack of exercise. And we all know that manufacturers of foods like sugary breakfast cereals gear them towards children.

The problem may very well start with TV and Internet marketing designed to make unhealthy products look wonderful and fun to eat, according to a recent Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity study reported in "Time Magazine."

So, what can we do? Especially considering that while some of these cereals are obvious others may look like healthy cereals - and a healthy-sounding name does not necessarily mean a healthy cereal. The good news? A little knowledge goes a long way.

Here are some ways to decode the "mystery" behind that sugary breakfast favorite kids have been slurping up for decades.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Monitor the ads your child views. According to the Rudd findings, by the time the average child enters preschool they will be exposed to around 500 ads that market these unhealthy cereals.

2. Beware of "harmless" Internet games and websites. Cereal brands such as Lucky Charms have built up their online presence to offer even more exposure for their products. The more exposure your child has to these products, the more they will want them.

3. Know which cereals are bad for you. Brands like Lucky Charms, Corn Pops and Cookie Crisp are fairly obvious. Other cereals may look healthy, but also be high in sugar. For starters, stay away from the cereals that are obviously bad (low in fiber, high in sugar, not made with whole grains).
   
   To be sure, look at the sugar content of the cereal and the total calories. For instance, 12 grams of sugar is equivalent to about 50 calories. In most cereals if the sugar count is high, chances are most of the calories come from sugar. This is not good - it means that the cereal is basically sugar and does not provide many other nutrients.

4. Check the ingredients list. If sugar is close to the top that is a sign the cereal is high in sugar. Next, check the label to see how many grams of sugar there are. Glance at the calories so you can get an idea of how much sugar makes up the total calories. The higher the number, the worse the cereal.

5. Beware of sugar cereals disguised as healthy cereals. This includes cereals like Honey Nut Cheerios, MultiGrain Cheerios and Frosted Mini Wheats. These all have sugar fairly high on the ingredients list, which as we know is a red flag. This is where reading food labels comes in handy.

6. Know what makes a good cereal. Cheerios, for example, is a classic brand that is healthy (not the sugary versions like Honey Nut, but the original kind). Sugar is fairly low on the ingredients list; the cereal is high in fiber; and oats are a healthy grain. Make these cereals more interesting to your kids by adding berries, dried fruit and raw nuts. Now that's a healthy breakfast!

7. Know your portion sizes. Most of us pour cereal out of the box without measuring. With healthier cereals this isn't as much of a problem. Two servings of a high-sugar cereal like Corn Pops, however, can be seriously detrimental to your child's health.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't give in when your kids ask for unhealthy cereals.
• Monitor your children's Internet use.
• Change the channel during commercials. Better yet, use your DVR and delete or fast forward through the commercials.

Resources

• Sweet Spot: How Sugary-Cereal Makers Target Kids

[christmaszorro2]

on 11/16/2009 5 stars!

[vikki9]

on 11/4/2009 Staying away from overly processed foods is a good general rule.

[jenng]

on 11/3/2009 great article on How to Decode Sugar Cereals 5*

[omghow]

on 11/3/2009 Thanks for sharing.

[Fike]

on 11/3/2009 I don't really understand Houstonyardero's comment, since if I did, I'd be inclined to say that what's being advocated is that children understand what only adults and precocious children only sometimes understand. In any event, this read a lot like the recent news reports on this topic. But, maybe you wrote those! If so, thank you for sharing them here as well so that we have the written versions for reference. I'm still not clear about the specifics of what we're supposed to be gained by reading the labels, but you've encouraged me to do further research, which is great! :-)