Hopefully the answer to this absurd question is, "no." It doesn't get much worse than a twinkie right? When you think of a twinkie you think of sugar that lasts forever. Many parents may be shocked to find out that there are cereals out there that contain more sugar per cup than does a twinkie. Take Kellogg's Honey Smacks for instance: One cup of this cereal contains 20 grams of sugar, whereas a twinkie contains 18 grams.
"The top offenders, including Honey Smacks, Apple Jacks, Froot Loops, and Quaker Cap'n Crunch, all contain more than 41 percent sugar (by weight). The guidelines, meanwhile, for ready-to-eat cereals recommend no more than 26 percent added sugar by weight."
The Environmental Working Group put together a list of the worst cereal offenders.
10 Worst Children’s Cereals
(Based on % sugar per weight)
- Kellogg’s Honey Smacks 55.6%
- Post Golden Crisp 51.9%
- Kellogg’s Froot Loops Marshmallow 48.3%
- Quaker Oats Cap’n Crunch’s OOPS! All Berries 46.9%
- Quaker Oats Cap’n Crunch Original 44.4%
- Quaker Oats Oh!s 44.4%
- Kellogg’s Smorz 43.3%
- Kellogg’s Apple Jacks 42.9%
- Quaker Oats Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries 42.3%
- Kellogg’s Froot Loops Original
A study by Yale University's Rudd Center found cereal makers spend upwards of $150 million annually marketing to children just on television. And the cereals that they are marketing have more sugar, calories and sodium than non-kid cereals, and less fiber and protein, according to the Rudd Center.
How can you find out how bad your cereal is? There is a new app called Fooducate that allows you to scan any barcode to get a quick grade on the product. This grade will show up as an A through F. These grades aren't merely based on sugar content as was the EWG analysis, but taking in various factors. Even though a cereal may be lower in sugar that the ones mentioned above does not mean they will make the fooducate grade.
Pura Vida!
Alica Ryan, NTP
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