A Bowl Of Cereal Can Contain More Fat Than Chocolate Cake

People who eat healthy-looking, granola-based breakfast food might as well start their day with a handful of cookies or a slice of chocolate cake.

People who eat healthy-looking, granola-based breakfast food might as well start their day with a handful of cookies or a slice of chocolate cake, according to new research by a British nutrition watchdog.

The study, done by the Food Commission, an independent advocacy group, shows that cereal companies using the words “Harvest” and “Country” are deceptively leading breakfast-eaters to believe their morning meals are healthy.

The results reveal 50 grams of a number of the British breakfast cereals are higher in saturated fat and sugar content than five chocolate chip cookies or one slice of orange-carrot or chocolate cake.

Many of the cereals tested are similar to brands marketed in Canada and the United States, researchers said.

Researchers tested 10 popular varieties of British cereals, including Quaker’s Red Berries Crunch, and found, on average, the cereals contained fat levels of up to 20%, including saturated fat levels up to 12% and sugar levels up to 30%.

In comparison, chocolate chip cookies were found to contain 24% fat, 12% saturated fat and 22% sugar.

The brand of chocolate cake tested was 10% fat, 6% saturated fat and 34% sugar.

“We are all encouraged to think of breakfast cereals as healthy foods, and health promoters tell us to eat more of them and to cut back on sweet, fatty foods like cakes, pastries and biscuits,” said Tim Lobstein, director of the Food Commission and the lead author of the study. “But now we are finding that some cereals are undermining that message.

“The products are stacked on the supermarket shelves along with healthier breakfast cereals, but they don’t belong there. They should be among the biscuits and cakes.”

Harvey Anderson, a professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto, said many people are fooled by “healthy looking” cereals when they have “texture.”

Nutritional experts say granola, with its healthful image, is especially deceptive.

“Some of the granola cereals are quite high in fat. On one hand, consumers get the image their choice of cereal has all the healthy good stuff,” Dr. Anderson said.

Preservative ingredients, such as hydrogenated vegetable oil, used to make granola stick together, causing the fat content in the cereal to skyrocket. However, Dr. Anderson said granola-eaters should not swear off the crunchy favorite, especially if they can find a brand high in fiber.

“The real breakfast disasters are not cereals. Remember most people consume their cereal with milk and protein, which means that extra nine grams of fat is irrelevant if you have those other minerals and nutrients. Cookies and chocolate cake are not nutrient-fortified. Six or seven strips of bacon, plus an egg and buttered toast adds up to 40 grams of fat,” he said.

Cereals that are fortified with vitamins, bran-based and in flake form are among the healthiest choices.

“The message here is read the label and select the low-fat breakfast cereal. The breakfast eater who eats breakfast with low-fat milk and juice, we have found, has a lower fat intake than the person who skips breakfast or eats an alternative,” Dr. Anderson said.

Andrea Holwegner, a registered Calgary dietitian, said she warns her clients about the perils of granola, but agreed there is more to look at than fat content.

“Granola usually has lots of vitamins, minerals and fiber, but if you coat it with butter and sugar, and then roast it, it is kind of the same as eating an oatmeal cookie,” she said.

Susan Schreiber, a spokeswoman for Quaker Canada, said her company has no intention of misleading its customers by using healthful words in cereal names.

“We make a wide variety of wholesome cereals to suit all different palates. The Harvest Crunch line contains wholesome ingredients like most of our products, and all our nutritional information is on the box for consumers to read,” she said.

Paige Raymond Kovach, a spokeswoman for Health Canada, said Canada’s nutritional guidelines recommend consumers read nutritional labels and compare cereal products so as not to exceed a maximum intake of 65 grams of fat daily, or 2,000 calories.

Written by Jessica Leeder, and originally published on National Post and reprinted on DrKelley.info, August 2, 2002. Embedded links and contact information may no longer be active or valid. (Ed. 12.24.10)

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