The 10 Most Sugary Cereals

Cookies for breakfast? Most would say no way. But you may actually be unknowingly serving up heaping bowls of cereal with just as much -- if not more -- sugar.

The Environmental Working Group, a public health nonprofit, reviewed nutrition labels for 84 popular brands of breakfast cereals marketed toward children. Out of those 84, 56 clocked in above 24 to 26 percent sugar by weight, the maximum recommended earlier this year by a Congress-assembled group of marketing experts and nutrition scientists, according to the report, which was released today.

A serving of cereal that's 26 percent sugar by weight may not sound so shocking -- until you consider the sugar content in some notorious junk food. The EWG authors report that a one-cup serving of Kellogg's Honey Smacks contains more sugar than a Twinkie. A one-cup serving of 44 different cereals the EWG examined contains more sugar than three Chips Ahoy! cookies. And a one-cup serving of 56 different cereals has more sugar than two Oreos.

The problem with a super-sweet breakfast? Not only does the body convert extra sugar calories to fat, but the sugar causes blood sugar levels to spike. When they crash, you will be hungry again -- and craving more unhealthy, sweet and fatty foods.

Look instead for breakfast cereals with at least 3 or 4 grams of fiber, to help you stay full longer, as well as varieties made with whole grains. Adding berries to your cereal or having a piece of fruit on the side can satisfy a sweets craving more naturally, and also help you meet your quota of servings of fruit for the day.

Click through the ten sugariest children's cereals below -- for the full report, as well as a list of some of the healthiest cereals, click through to Environmental Working Group.

Comments

[Brandon Blodgett]

10:02 AM on 06/15/2012

I don't get it, everyone demonizes "sugary cereals" but 1 cup of Honey Smacks contains 20 grams of sugar and 1 large apple has 23 grams of sugar. I don't hear anyone calling them sugary Apples. A banana has 17g of sugar. But these fruits are considered healthy and good for you but have just as much sugar as the cereal...

[Nolana]

08:08 AM on 12/12/2011

When I was a kid I LOVED Froot Loops, and would always eat them dry out of the box, because they got soggy and gummy in milk. That was when they only had the orange, lemon and cherry flavors. Loved .em!

Six or seven years ago I bought a box, for old time's sake, and found the cereal horribly transformed. Now there were purple, blue and green bits (the green looking for all the world like cabbage worms), and they tasted HORRIBLE. Not only did they taste just plain bad, they left a lingering, acrid chemical taste in my mouth that I could not wash, rinse or brush away. It lasted almost a whole day after eating the stuff.

$5 down the drain. I threw the stuff away- in the trash, not the compost. I did not what the god-only-knows-what-chemicals contaminating the garden.

[jaslyn]

01:12 AM on 12/12/2011

These so called cereals are pure garbage. Sugar is not a food group. Anyone who buys this faux food should do so with the understanding that it's unhealthy and an expensive rip off.

[xstevejx]

06:29 PM on 12/11/2011

Whatever! Don't you DARE take away my Crunch Berries or Froot Loops. My mom tried doing that when I was a kid and my brothers and I stopped eating breakfast, so she caved. :-)

[stjoshy]

01:19 AM on 12/11/2011

cookies for breakfast is way of life for cookie monster. OMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOM!!!!!!!!!

[luvinlife]

10:15 PM on 12/09/2011

Growing up, mom/dad only bought corn flakes, rice krispies and puffed wheat. So, when I moved out on my own, I loaded up on Sugar Smacks (now Honey Smacks) and Cap'n Crunch. Yum!!! OD'd on those cereals and tore up the roof of my mouth, so I started eating healthier cereals. Now, HS and C'n C are a MAJOR treat about 2x/yr. Luv 'em!!

[Sue Bryant]

02:13 PM on 12/11/2011

Same for me, got sugary cereal very rarely as a kid, maybe once or twice a year. Now I have Cinnamon Toast Crunch once in awhile. Moderation is really the key. Can't eat a bowl of sugar for breakfast every day, or even every week.

[imusintheevening]

07:41 PM on 12/09/2011

No wonder diabetes is so common.

I am very grateful my mother never let us eat sugary products, potato chips, junk food and soft drinks.

Now, I keep no sweets in the house. If I ever get a craving for something, I force myself to make it from scratch, so I end up making peanut butter cookies about 3 times a year and they last for weeks.

[Sue Bryant]

02:17 PM on 12/11/2011

I do the same thing. Never buy store cookies, etc. I figure, if I really want cookies, cake, I can take the time to make them from scratch. Then I know what's in them, and they taste way better too.

[kareemachan]

11:35 AM on 12/09/2011

My mom used to buy Alphabits once in a while, but we drove her crazy by trying to spell things at the table.

[zmfts]

08:45 AM on 12/09/2011

My mom refused to buy sugary cereals for me when I was a kid. All I was allowed was Cheerios, Grape-Nuts, etc. but I compensated by pouring heaping spoonsful of table sugar on top. I know I was consuming far more sugar that way than if it had been regulated for me! (Now all I eat is sugar cereals. It's my way of rebelling against my parents, I guess. Lucky Charms all the way, baby!)

[pucpaul]

07:59 AM on 12/09/2011

When I was a kid 1960's my favorite cereal was shredded wheat. They came in those big blocks, you'd pour the milk over it dump a little sugar and then shred. My ,mom never could figure out why I like it so much. Now that I'm an adult I don't know why either. It tasted like cardboard. But I thought it was neat and my dad liked it too so I think that was probably the biggest selling point.

[sempronia]

07:22 AM on 12/09/2011

I actually remember being about 4 or 5 and telling my mother (late 1980s) that she should buy me Froot Loops, and that they were a good source of vitamin C. Oh, the power of advertising...

[floridaviolinist]

12:11 AM on 12/09/2011

try kashi or grape nuts. god for bid americans eat anything that has any remote traces of nutrition.

[kareemachan]

11:32 AM on 12/09/2011

I love Grape Nuts, and sometimes nuke it in the microwave to make an oatmeal-type bowl.

[BurritoT]

12:54 AM on 12/11/2011

cook them on the stove-top with a little milk, tastes great

[PuSencer]

09:48 PM on 12/09/2011

how can you eat grape nuts? it's like gravel

[floridaviolinist]

10:45 PM on 12/09/2011

Grape Nuts are my all-time favorite cereal. Instead of regular milk, use some vanilla soy, and pop it in the micro for a few seconds to soften them up. it's amazing.

[OrwellianOne]

01:43 PM on 12/10/2011

Agreed, one of the worst food items to ever hit a grocery shelf.

[mushimom]

07:19 PM on 12/08/2011

I remember going to stay at my cousins house for the weekend, my Uncle would mix Cheerios with Fruit loops or Apple Jacks to cut the sugar down...I thought it was so awesome...still one of my favorite memories...;D

[dil123]

05:21 PM on 12/08/2011

I love Capn Crunch but it makes the top of my mouth bleed.

[BuckyJamesDio]

07:30 PM on 12/09/2011

There was one day that started with a bowl of Cap'n Crunch and really hot coffee, continued with a club sandwich on toast, and ended with a pocket of nuclear-blast pizza sauce.

Let's just say I ate nothing but Jell-O for three days after.

[gumbygirl]

05:21 PM on 12/08/2011

Oh NOOOOOO!!!! Not the Cap'n! I love Apple Jacks too, and I'm only middlin' fat.