The Environmental Working Group has done great research over the years. They recently analyzed more than 1,500 cereals, including more than 180 children’s cereals. The EWG has calculated that on the average, a child who eats a bowl a day for a year ends up consuming 10 pounds of sugar.
Ironically, the cereals loaded with the most added sugar frequently lure children towards their product with packaging that features cartoon characters to appeal to kids. A single servingof the higher sugar varieties, can contain nearly as much sugar as three Chips Ahoy! cookies, and more than two Keebler Fudge Stripe cookies.
Another twist is that the serving sizes listed on many cereal boxes are unrealistically small, even sugar-conscious consumers are eating even more than they realize. To top it all off, 11 of the 13 most heavily sugared children’s cereals feature marketing claims like “Good Source of Fiber” that suggest misleadingly that the products are healthy to consume.
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So how do you navigate the cereal aisle to find the least sugary products? Check these lists to see which have the most and the least sugar before you head to the store.
The worst twelve that are more than 50% sugar, were inducted into the EWG’s cereals “Hall of Shame.” The list includes Kellogg’s Honey Smacks, Malt-O-Meal Golden Puffs and Post Golden Crisp. The Kellogg Company has the unusual distinction of having both the highest as well as the lowest cereals as far as percentage of sugar content.
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EWG also took a second look at 84 popular children’s cereals it had previously analyzed in its 2011 Sugar in Children’s Cereals report. It found that not one on the 2011 “worst” list had lowered its sugar content over the last three years. They didn't even make an effort to lower their sugar percentage.
The new report includes tips for any cereal eater who wants to cut back on sugar, including paying attention to the nutrition labels to find out which products are the least sugary. EWG recommends no more than a teaspoon (4 grams) per serving. Preparing breakfast from scratch and eating fruit, unsweetened hot cereals or other whole foods with no added sugar are smarter choices.
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