Most of us are so concerned about getting our children off the couch and outside to burn off calories that we fail to consider the role proper nutrition plays in weight loss and overall health.
You might be surprised by how an item as unassuming as breakfast cereal can contribute to a child’s poor eating habits. The amount of sugar and salt featured in typical kids’ cereals is staggering.
To aid parents in their quest to raise healthy, fit kids “Consumer Reports” recently tested and rated 27 popular cereals aimed at children. Some fared well in the nutrition department while others tanked.
“Consumer Reports” examined commercials run on kids’ networks, such as Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network, to see which cereals were most heavily marketed to kids. They were then rated “very good,” “good,” and “fair” depending on the amount of sugar, sodium fiber, calcium and iron each contained.
The cereals “Consumer Reports” dubbed “fair” had some nutritional value, but not much. Meaning while you don’t have to completely eliminate them from your child’s diet it’s not advisable to have your son or daughter eat them everyday.
The top-rated cereal in the study was Cheerios. “Consumer Reports” testers found that it has “very little sugar, and was low in sodium, and did well in fiber as well. It’s a good source of a lot of things that has iron and calcium in it as well, and it’s good cereal for you.”
Kix also did very well in the study given that it was low in sugar and sodium and had high levels of fiber.
Lucky Charms and Frosted Mini-Wheats were also rated as “very good.”
Cookie Crisp, Cocoa Puffs, and Cocoa Pebbles did well in the sodium (low) and fiber (high) categories. Meanwhile, Rice Krispies didn’t do as well as many parents might have wanted. According to testers, it may be puffed rice, but it has no fiber in it. What it did have was a high level of sodium, which is not good for children.
Among the cereals that didn’t rate well in the “Consumer Reports” study were Corn Pops, Honey Smacks, Foot Loops and Golden Crisps. All had high levels of sugar and were lacking in other nutrients.
What kind of cereal does your child eat?
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