Abstract
Breakfast is an important contributor to the daily dietary intake of children. This study investigated the nutritional composition of ready to eat (RTE) children’s breakfast cereals, which display fictional cartoon characters and themes, compared to other cereals available in Australia. Nutrient content claims on packaging were also examined. Data were collected from RTE breakfast cereal packages (N = 347) from four major supermarkets in Sydney. Cereals were classified based on product type and promotional information displayed. Overall, 46% of children’s cereals were classified as “less healthy” as per nutrient profiling score criteria. Children’s cereals had a similar energy and sodium content per 100 g compared to other cereals but contained significantly higher levels of total sugar and lower levels of protein and dietary fibre compared to other varieties. Children’s cereals with nutrient content claims had improved (lower) nutrient profiling scores than those that did not (2 vs. 13, p = 0.021), but total sugar per 100 g was similar: 25 g (interquartile range (IQR) 14 g) vs. 32 g (IQR 19 g). In conclusion, RTE children’s breakfast cereals were found to be less healthy compared to other cereals on the market and the use of nutrient content claims on children’s cereals may mislead consumers regarding their overall nutrient profile.
Highlights
Eating a healthy breakfast improves nutritional intakes and has been associated with long term health benefits such as lower risk of overweight and obesity, and reduced risk factors for cardiovascular disease compared with skipping breakfast [1,2]
The most recent national nutrition survey in Australia indicated that 47% of children aged 2–18 years old reported eating breakfast cereals, and one in six children ate “ready to eat” (RTE) pre-sweetened cereals containing more than 15 g sugar per 100 g [3]
Of children did not meet the minimum serves of grains and cereals and approximately 75% of children consumed in excess of the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation for free sugar intake [4,6,7,8]
Summary
Eating a healthy breakfast improves nutritional intakes and has been associated with long term health benefits such as lower risk of overweight and obesity, and reduced risk factors for cardiovascular disease compared with skipping breakfast [1,2]. Pre-sweetened cereals contributed significantly higher total and free sugars to the daily nutrient intakes but less protein and dietary fibre compared with minimally sweetened cereals [3]. Analysis of the survey undertaken by the Australian Bureau of Statistics [4] revealed that children were not meeting the dietary guideline recommendations to ensure adequate intake of food groups and key nutrients required for optimal health and growth [5]. Increasing the consumption of healthy cereal-based breakfasts among children could improve nutritional intake and help meet the dietary guidelines. Breakfast consumption has been shown to improve daily nutritional profile, lower the risk of being overweight or obese, and improve cognitive functioning in children compared to non-consumption of breakfast [9,10,11,12]
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