Sugar cereals are unhealthy choices but marketed heavily to kids

Sugary cereals like Frosted Flakes are heavily marketed to children to the tune of about $229 million advertising dollars per year.

There are four cereals with kid-focused marketing that are more healthy choices: Cheerios, Kix, Honey Nut Cheerios (all General Mills), and Life (Quaker Oats) because they have relatively lower sugar and higher dietary fiber. Cheerios topped the list with only 1 gram of sugar and a healthful 3 grams of fiber per serving.

The bad news is that 23 of the top 27 cereals marketed to children are not "healthy." There is at least as much sugar in a serving of Kellogg's Honey Smacks and 10 other cereals as there is in a glazed doughnut from Dunkin’ Donuts. Two cereals, Kellogg's Honey Smacks and Post Golden Crisp, are more than 50 percent sugar (by weight) and nine are at least 40 percent sugar. Kellogg's Rice Krispies has only 4 grams of sugar per serving BUT it is higher in sodium and has zero dietary fiber. Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats Bite Size is considered healthful cereal because it has 12 grams of sugar per serving, is also very low in sodium and has a hefty 6 grams of fiber.