A positive move, but not exactly altruistic
As reported in a post here, Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity recently leveled a broadside at the makers of children’s breakfast cereals with a report of a study that found that those cereals most heavily and aggressively marketed specifically to children were also those that were the least healthy for children to consume.
The chief offender in this regard, the report found, was General Mills, which (1) produced six of the 10 unhealthiest cereals, and (2) did the most intensely child-focused marketing of any cereal company. The report, or more likely the ensuing heat from health experts, consumer groups and regulating agencies, evidently got the attention of the folks at General Mills, who have announced reductions in the sugar content of 10 of their cereals. This would be joyous news, if not for a couple of qualifying notes.
Don’t hand over that Corporate Citizen of the Year trophy just yet
First, some GM cereals won’t be affected because, the company says, they aren’t advertised on children’s TV shows or other kid media. But among those are the likes of Boo Berry and Franken Berry, which hardly seem adult-oriented in name or concept. And although their sugar content had already been reduced two years ago, it still amounts to 12 grams of the stuff, just a shade under one-half ounce, per serving.
Second, the company hasn’t set any timeline or schedule for the sugar reductions, so this changeover could conceivably take longer than health care reform to actually become reality.
And finally, the cereals that are affected, such as Trix, Lucky Charms and Cocoa Puffs, will still deliver a quarter ounce or so of sugar per serving, and exactly what if anything the absent sugar will be replaced with hasn’t been revealed.
Thought for the day: A worried food company is a responsive food company
Even so, in the context of current childhood obesity statistics, any reduction is to be applauded, especially in light of another finding: that the more sugar a cereal contains, the more of it kids eat — almost twice as much as they do low-sugar cereals, in fact.
It’s also worth noting that GM isn’t the only cereal giant to be rattled by growing public concern over the effect of its products on children. Kellogg’s has trimmed the sugar content of Froot Loops, Corn Pops and several other sweet-tooth cereals by a gram or two per serving, and Post has cut the sugar load of Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles by one-fifth.
What’s really needed here, however, at least in terms of national weight reduction, is some kind of well-publicized, industrywide ceiling on the sugar content of any packaged cereal, regardless of whom its marketed to. Of course, that will require a considerable amount of pressure from those who buy their products.
Get those angry e-mails going, parents.
(By Robert S. Wieder for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)
From the RSS feed of CalorieLab News (REF3076322B7)
General Mills to reduce sugar content in some kids’ cereals. Bravo. Or maybe Eh.