A new study by researchers at Yale University found that the least healthy breakfast cereals are also the ones that are most aggressively marketed directly to children as young as age 2.

Researchers found that cereals marketed directly to children have, on average, 85 percent more sugar, 65 percent less fiber, and 60 percent more sodium than cereals marketed to adults. Only 8 percent of cereals marketed directly to children had low enough sugar content to qualify for inclusion in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program.

The study, which evaluated 115 cereal brands and 277 individual cereal varieties, found extremely high sugar content in such well-known cereals as Cocoa Puffs (44 percent sugar), Cap'n Crunch (44 percent sugar), Fruit Loops (41 percent sugar), Lucky Charms (41 percent sugar) and Cinnamon Toast Crunch (32 percent sugar). In addition, researchers found that 42 percent of children's cereals contain artificial food dyes, compared with 26 percent of family cereals and only 5 percent of cereals that specifically target adults.

(Source: www.cbc.ca)

Labels: childhood-obesity, food industry