Study Finds Them Full of Nutrients for Children : Ready-to-Eat Cereals Rated High
Ready-to-eat cereals provide lots of nutrients, and children who eat them tend to be better nourished than those who breakfast on other foods, according to a study of hundreds of 1- to 5-year-olds.
University of Missouri nutritionist Gretchen Hill said her study shows “kids can get a good breakfast on their own by getting the cereal box and some milk.”
The study “doesn’t say there isn’t any other type of breakfast that is good,” said Hill, who presented her study during a recent meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.
But she said parents should not feel guilty about letting children eat cold cereal, especially with low-fat milk, because “the data was very clear that there are a lot of nutrients in that breakfast they might not get enough of in some other breakfast.”
Parents who feed their children well-balanced breakfasts--fruit, toast, low-fat milk, some bacon plus only three eggs weekly--should not change, said Hill.
“But if you’re lazy and have to choose between doughnuts and cereal, provide the cereal,” she said.
Even a leading critic of sugar in breakfast cereals agreed with the study’s conclusion.
“Cold cereal is a good breakfast. But giving your child a fortified cereal is like giving them a vitamin pill,” said Bonnie Liebman, nutrition director for the Washington-based Center for Science in the Public Interest.
While most cereals are fortified, “Parents should still try to choose the most healthful breakfast cereals--those relatively low in sugar and those that are whole grain,” Liebman said.
Hill used data collected in 1985 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for her study of 27 dietary components--including calories, protein, vitamins, minerals and fiber--consumed during all three meals and snacks by 548 children ages 1 to 5 nationwide.
Eleven skipped breakfast. Of the others, about half ate ready-to-eat cereals. The half that did not eat cereals was not divided as to whether the children ate balanced breakfasts or not because Hill simply wanted to know how the average cereal eater did compared with other children.
More Vitamins
Cereal eaters tended to receive significantly more vitamins A and B12, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine, iron, folic acid and zinc than non-cereal eaters or breakfast skippers, Hill said. Cereal eaters also ate significantly less cholesterol and fat.
She said all three groups tended to get adequate protein and carbohydrates, but breakfast skippers risked low-energy and future bone ailments because they failed to meet recommended daily amounts of thiamine, calcium and vitamin A, and ate less fiber, pyridoxine, calcium, magnesium, zinc and copper.
Hill’s study was financed by the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station, without support from cereal manufacturers, although Quaker Oats and Kellogg contacted her and “are very enthusiastic,” she said.
Liebman cautioned that a link between breakfast cereals and better overall nutrition “doesn’t prove cause and effect. It’s possible these kids overall ate less fat and cholesterol because they came from families that are more nutrition-conscious.”
Hill disagreed, saying the study found cereal eaters not only ate more nourishing breakfasts but were better nourished overall “and end up with low fat and cholesterol intake because of their breakfast.”
Liebman warned that over-dependence on fortified foods may spur deficiencies in trace nutrients not added to such foods. She also said minimum recommended daily amounts of nutrients do not guarantee good health. Hill agreed but said the recommendations “are the best guide we have.”
Liebman said parents should pick cereals with no more than two to three grams of sugar per ounce of cereal, or with no more than four or five grams per ounce if the cereal contains dried fruit.
Hill said some studies showed milk tends to wash cereal sugars off teeth, so cereals are unlikely to cause cavities. “If the choice is between nothing and sugary cereals, I’d go for the sugary cereal.”
