Made with Tony's Secret Formula, they're Gr-r-reat! Not only are Kellogg's Frosties super crunchy and great tasting, they are packed with carbohydrates - a great fuel for your body, and one serving provides half your daily needs (RDA) of three B-vitamins, which help convert food into the energy you need. A Gr-r-reat-tasting breakfast cereal!
That's the description on the Kellogg's website for one of the children's favourite breakfast foods. But what it doesn't tell us is that the popular cereal is laden with sugar.
The latest report, Going Against the Grain, from consumer group Which?, tells us that many brands perceived to be healthy, including Kellogg's All Bran, Bran Flakes and Special K have high levels of sugar. Morrisons Choco Crackles cereal tops the sweet mountain with more sugar to a serving than a Cadbury Flake, followed closely by Kellogg's Coco Pops Moons and Stars, Frosties and Ricicles, which were more than a third - 37% - pure sugar, according to the Which? report.
In fact only eight of the products surveyed qualified for a Food Standards Agency healthy "green light" for low levels of sugar, with 31 out the 100 cereals examined containing more than four teaspoons of sugar to a recommended serving. Only one of the 28 cereals specifically marketed at children, Kellogg's Rice Krispies, was found not to be high in sugar, but it was high in salt. Nestle Shredded Wheat was the only cereal to show a green lights in all categories.
Sue Davies, chief policy adviser at Which?, said: "Some cereals deserve their healthy image, but most simply don't. It's especially shocking that almost all those targeted at children are less healthy."
Cereal manufacturers need "to wake up to the fact that people want to eat healthily and provide them with the means to do so by reducing sugar and salt levels and making labelling clearer", she added. "With over £1bn spent every year, it's time they rose to the occasion."
The Change4Life campaign was launched in January to tackle soaring rates of obesity by promoting healthy eating and exercise. Official statistics from the National Child Measurement programme suggest that 22 per cent of children are overweight or obese by the time they start school, while nearly a third (31 per cent) fall into these categories at age 10 or 11.
But changing kids eating habits overnight poses a potential problem for parents. Anyone with young children will know that a major problem is trying to get them to eat the right foods. How many times have you heard child screaming 'I don't want that, I want ....? And how many times have you given in for the sake of a little peace and quiet?
Are you one of those who has tried and failed to introduce a beneficial eating plan to your children? Or have you been successful in implementing a healthy diet and exercise regime? We'd love to hear your experiences...
