Study Of Foods Targeting Children Finds Most Of Them Are Not “Better For You”

A report from the Prevention Institute shows that, despite label claims on prepared foods and meals, snacks, breakfast cereals and beverages, 84 percent of child-targeted products examined did not meet basic nutritional standards. The study looked at the front-of-package labeling on fifty-eight “Better-for-You” children’s products: those that manufacturers tout as their most nutritious. The nutritional content was compared against criteria from the U.S. Dietary Guidelines and the National Academies of Science. Study findings revealed that 57 percent of the products studied qualified as high sugar (95 percent contained added sugar); 53 percent were low in fiber; 53 percent did not contain any fruits or vegetables; 24 percent of prepared foods were high in saturated fats; and 36 percent of prepared foods and meals were high in sodium.