In a study that will come as a surprise to no one who's even so much as smelled Lucky Charms, researchers found that many children's cereals have a cavity-inducing amount of sugar per serving—some clocking in with more sugar than Twinkies.
The Environmental Working Group found that 56 of our 84 popular cereals marketed to kids aren't meeting a series of voluntary guidelines designed to fight childhood obesity. The worst offenders are Kellogg's Honey Smacks (20 grams of sugar per serving, compared to 18 grams in the aforementioned Twinkie), Post Golden Crisp (over 50 percent sugar by weight) and Kellogg's Froot Loops with Marshmallows (no surprise there).
Kellogg's told NPR in a statement that "Kellogg's has reduced the sugar content of its U.S. kids' cereals by 16 percent since 2007. Plus, Honey Smacks are not marketed to kids and are 'seldom eaten by them,'" probably because they're too busy pushing the Froot Loops instead. If you're paranoid about a little glucose, one nutritionist recommends sticking with bo-oring options like Shredded Wheat and Multi-Grain Cheerios, but we recommend you quit belly tooth-aching and try Momofuku Milk Bar's hyper-sweet Cereal Milk instead.
