cereal.jpg
Children's cereals are much more nutritious these days, but many companies are marketing the high-sugar, high-fat cereals to children more aggressively. Advertising for healthy cereals is geared more towards parents. (AP photo/File)

Better cereals, worse advertising for kids

BY Lisa Brooks  on June 23, 2012 @ 9:03 am (Updated: 1:09 pm - 6/23/12 )

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The cereal choices available to children are more nutritious than they were a few years ago.

However, a Yale University study says the least nutritious cereals are the ones that run the most advertising.

According to the study by Yale's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, the companies that make the cereals spent $264 million on advertising for children. That's a 34 percent increase over 2008. The advertising most specifically aimed at kids was for the least-nutritious cereals.

The more nutritious ones were were also advertised, but those ads were targeted at parents.

Almost a third of children in the United States are classified as overweight or obese. The Rudd report is a response to the ongoing discussion about how to handle the situation.

Since the food industry established the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative in 2006, some cereal companies have worked to improve nutrition value. This came as a response to a threat of regulation by government agencies.

The first Rudd Report came out in 2009 to measure the effectiveness of different marketing and of better nutrition in children's foods.

This year's study is being presented at the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Lisa Brooks, KIRO Radio Anchor
You can hear Lisa Brooks every Saturday morning from 6-9 as host of Seattle's Morning News: Saturday edition. She also is a news anchor and regular feature contributor on KIRO. She joined KIRO in 2010 after 7 years with "the competition". She's now honored to contribute great stories to a fantastic team. Lisa's a big Mariner's fan, and has even had the opportunity to serve as a fill-in Public Address Announcer at the old Kingdome and Safeco Field for more than a dozen games. Biggest thrill, annoucing Ken Griffey Junior and Cal Ripken Junior's names as they came up to bat. Lisa loves volunteering in her community, and spending time with her two pooches, Dudley and Motley.
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  • tieshaedwards wrote...
    samples
    June 23, 2012 10:07 pm
    You can cut your bills tremendously by visiting "Official Samples" website without becoming addicted like some of the people you see on TV, That’s more like hoarding.
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  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }