Abstract
Ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal is a popular food among children. However, there are no recent data on the associations between RTE cereal consumption and dietary outcomes in the U.S. Therefore, we sought to investigate how RTE cereal was associated with nutrient and food group intakes and overall dietary quality among children aged 0.5 to 17 years using the latest data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2015–2016). Thirty-six percent of children reported consuming RTE cereal. RTE cereal eaters consumed the same number of calories as non-eaters but had higher intakes of total carbohydrates, total sugar, fiber, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, vitamin B12, and vitamin D, as well as lower intakes of total fat and saturated fat (p ≤ 0.0007). We also found that children who consumed RTE cereal had 29% higher total dairy intake (p < 0.0001) and 61% higher whole grain intake (p < 0.0001). Lastly, children who ate RTE cereal had higher diet quality than the children that did not eat RTE cereal, as shown by Healthy Eating Index 2015 total score (52.6 versus 47.7, p < 0.0001). Therefore, consumption of whole-grain fortified RTE cereals should be encouraged as part of healthy dietary patterns for children.
Highlights
Ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal is a popular breakfast food for children
Previous results have shown that children who eat RTE cereal, at any time or as a part of breakfast, have higher nutrient intakes, including nutrients of public health concern [1], higher whole grain intake, and are more likely to meet nutrition recommendations [2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]
We further reported on key food sub-groups including fluid milk, intact fruit, fruit juice, whole grains, and refined grains because these are plausibly associated with RTE cereal consumption
Summary
Ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal is a popular breakfast food for children. Previous results have shown that children who eat RTE cereal, at any time or as a part of breakfast, have higher nutrient intakes, including nutrients of public health concern (calcium, fiber, potassium, and vitamin D) [1], higher whole grain intake, and are more likely to meet nutrition recommendations [2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]. RTE cereal is a popular food among infants and toddlers, yet, to our knowledge, there is limited information available on the role that RTE cereal plays in the diet in this age group [13]
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