A study by the Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity blasts the nutritional value of some of the most advertised kids' cereals.
"If one looks at the rank order list of the worst nutrition cereals, it's stunning how the worst cereals are marketed so aggressively to children," said Kelly Brownell from Yale's Rudd Center.
Researchers found that the average American preschooler sees 642 cereal ads a year, and the vast majority of those ads are for sugared cereals.
The study's author says the heavy marketing campaigns are fueling America's growing childhood obesity epidemic. There are ways to train kids to eat healthier food. It's all about what they're exposed to.
The industry's efforts to police itself have failed. For example, under the industry's new standards many of the least nutritional cereals qualify as "better for you" foods.
Cereals like Froot Loops, Cap'n Crunch, and Cocoa Puffs, are cereals that have merit. ABC News also reached out to manufacturers of these cereals. They maintain they are making their cereals more nutritious along with reducing their advertising to children.
The study finds that cereals marketed to kids have 85 percent more sugar, 60 percent more sodium and 65 percent less fiber than those aimed at adults.
耶魯大學的路德食品政策和肥胖中心的一項研究,對大多數兒童麥片廣告吹噓的營養價值進行了嚴厲批評。
耶魯路德研究中心的凱利 布朗內爾說:"如果有人看了列出的營養最差麥片的排名,就會很震驚,為什么營養這么差的東西還不遺余力地向兒童推銷?"
研究人員發現,平均每個美國學齡前兒童一年要看到642個麥片廣告,絕大部分都是加了糖的麥片。
此項研究的作者說,強大的市場推銷是刺激兒童肥胖泛濫的原因。有辦法引導兒童食用健康食品,主要在于他們接觸到的(那些廣告宣傳).
這個行業自我監督的嘗試未能履行。比如,依照行業新標準,許多沒有營養的麥片都符合"健康"食品。
像大嘴鳥,嘎吱上尉,美多麥可可麥片都很有名。ABC新聞也提到了這些麥片的生產商。他們堅持說他們正努力生產更營養的麥片,同時減少針對兒童的廣告。
研究發現,與向成人推銷的麥片相比,推銷給孩子們的麥片含糖量多出85%,鈉含量多出60%,纖維含量卻少了65%.