Most Food Marketed as Healthy for Kids Is Not

Full of sugar, sodium or fat, but short on fiber: Study finds cereals, snacks and meals for kids are not what they appear to be.

January 19, 2011 at 1:37PM by Marion Nestle | comment

The Oakland-based Prevention Institute has just released its new research report: Claiming Health: Front-of-Package Labeling of Children’s Food. The report summarizes the Institute’s investigation of whether kids’ foods with “better-for-you” front-of-package labels meet dietary recommendations and nutrition standards.

Bottom line: they don’t.

Researchers bought 58 kids’ food products made by companies who have promised to meet certain nutritional criteria.

All had front-of-package labels that indicate healthier options.

The researchers measured the contents of these foods against a fairly standard—and quite generous—set of nutrient criteria.

The criteria allow products to have up to 25% of the calories from added sugars, up to 480 mg of sodium, and as little as 1.25 grams of fiber per serving.

Even so, the data show that:

84% of the study products could not meet one or more of the nutrient criteria
57% of the study products were high in sugar
53% of the study products were low in fiber
93% of cereals were high in sugar and 60% were low in fiber
36% of prepared foods and meals were high in sodium, 24% were high in saturated fat, and 28% were low in fiber
90% of snack foods were high in sugar, and 90% were low in fiber

Nutrient criteria make it easy to game the system, and front-of-package labels do exactly that.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) will soon release its second report on front-of-package labels, this one recommending what the FDA should do about them. Let’s hope the IOM committee pays close attention to this report.

Claiming Health makes it clear that without rigorous nutrient standards, plenty of not-so-good-for-you foods will be labeled as better for children.

As I keep saying, alas, front-of-package labels, like health claims, are about marketing, not health.

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tags: food label lies, sugar, sugary snacks, kids snacks, food nutrition labeling, better for you, food industry, healthy kids snacks, healthy cereal for children, healthy food for kids, healthy snacks for kids, healthy meals for kids

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Marion Nestle

Noted author Marion Nestle is a Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University. She is the author of What to Eat.
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