Cereal Is Less Healthy Than It Used to Be, According to New Research

In 2023, Civic Science reported that an estimated 70% of American households consume cereal, with more than half eating it on a weekly basis. It has long been heralded as the breakfast of champions. And sure, at one time, that may have been true. But according to new research, cereal has become less nutritious over time, losing that champion-boosting luster.

In May, researchers published their study findings on the nutritional content of ready-to-eat breakfast cereals specifically marketed to children, aiming to understand how it has changed over time.

The team took a cross-sectional approach, drawing on data from the Mintel Global New Products Database, which “tracks new product launches for food and beverages.” This database includes information on everything from nutritional content to packaging, ingredients, and the intended target market for each product.

The researchers analyzed every new children’s cereal product launched in the United States between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2023. (The team determined their selection by defining it as “ready-to-eat breakfast cereal products explicitly marketed to children aged 5 to 12 years … through packaging or branding.”) After this extensive research, they identified a whopping 1,200 cereals specifically aimed at kids that were launched during this 13-year period. However, it’s important to note that this does not mean 1,200 entirely new cereals entered the market. As the authors explained, this count also includes updated packaging and new formulations of older cereal brands as well.

It then examined the nutritional content of each cereal, including total fat, sodium, carbohydrates, sugar, protein, and dietary fiber per serving, while also assessing the nutrient content over time and adjusting for serving size changes that occurred throughout the years.

The team identified significant changes in the nutritional values of these cereals, including a 33.6% increase in total fat per serving, a 32.1% increase in sodium, and a 10.9% increase in sugar content. The only constant was total carbohydrates, which remained “relatively stable” over the timeframe.

However, the team reported that protein content “decreased significantly” from an average of 1.97 grams per serving to 1.69 grams, as did dietary fiber, which fell from 3.82 grams to 2.94 grams.

In their discussion, the authors described this as a “concerning nutritional shift,” adding that “children’s cereals contain high levels of added sugar, with a single serving exceeding 45% of the American Heart Association’s daily recommended limit for children. These trends suggest a potential prioritization of taste over nutritional quality in product development, contributing to childhood obesity and long-term cardiovascular health risks.”

The authors said that their study does not cover the entire cereal market or assess how this may affect children’s nutrition outcomes. However, Dr. Josephine Connolly-Schoonen, executive director of the nutrition division at Stony Brook Medicine and not involved in the study, shared with The New York Times that the findings “[reinforce] my belief that the food marketplace is very confusing, and that’s not by accident.” Connolly-Schoonen added, “The food industry engineers the confusion.”