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These cereal companies said they would voluntarily reduce the marketing of their unhealthy products to children.
This study tells us that these cereal companies have not done what they promised: to reduce their spending of their worst nutritional cereals directly targeted to kids.
The lead researcher in the study was Jennifer L. Harris, who is the director of marketing initiatives at the Rudd Center.
She states, "Children still get one spoonful of sugar in every three spoonfuls of cereal. These products are not nutritious options that children should consume every day."
The Yale News article "Cereal FACTS 2012: A spoonful of progress in a bowl full of unhealthy marketing to kids" states, "With the launch of the industry-led Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative in 2006, major companies such as General Mills, Kellogg, and Post promised to improve the nutritional value of their children’s cereals and strengthen their standards for child-directed advertising."
And, "In 2009, the Rudd Center issued the first Cereal FACTS report, which found that the least healthy breakfast cereals were those most frequently and aggressively marketed directly to children as young as age 2."
Further, "Using the same methods as the original Cereal FACTS, the 2012 study examined the nutritional quality of more than 100 brands and nearly 300 individual varieties of cereal marketed to children, families and adults. Researchers also examined the scope of industry advertising on television, the Internet, and social media sites."
The results are shown on page 2.
