NEW HAVEN, Conn.—Most sugary kids’ cereals are, well…sugary, says a new report from Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. Researchers analyzed the content of popular cereals with a nutrient profiling system and reviewed data their marketing and found that, cereals marketed to kids contain 85 percent more sugar, 65 percent less fiber and 60 percent more sodium than those targeted at adults.
Cereal companies have made pledges to self-regulate, but those promises "have not shielded kids from the barrage of messages" to eat the least healthful products, the report says.
According to a USA Today story, companies have reduced the average sugar level of kids' cereals, from 3½ teaspoons to 3 teaspoons per serving. In addition, most companies sell products with good nutrition marks, but few are advertised to children.
"Industry self-regulation is an abject failure," says Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center, in a USA Today interview. "The worst cereals are being marketed very heavily to children."
Bottom 10 Cereals Marketed to Kids by Nutrition Score:
1. Kellogg : Corn Pops (or Pops), Chocolate Peanut Butter
2. Quaker : Cap'n Crunch, with Crunchberries
3. Kellogg: Special K, Chocolatey Delight
4. Kellogg: Special K, Blueberry
5. General Mills: Reese's Puffs
6. General Mills: Fiber One, Caramel Delight
7. Kellogg: Cocoa Krispies, Choconilla
8. General Mills: Golden Grahams
9. General Mills: Cinnamon Toast Crunch , Regular
10. Kellogg: Corn Pops (or Pops), Regular