Nutritional quality and child-oriented marketing of breakfast cereals in Guatemala

Abstract

In Guatemala, cereals targeting children were generally of poor nutritional quality. Cereals displaying health claims were also not healthier than those without such claims. Our findings support the need for regulations restricting the use of child-oriented marketing and health claims for certain products.

Sugar Content and Nutritional Quality of Child Orientated Ready to Eat Cereals and Yoghurts in the UK and Latin America; Does Food Policy Matter?

“…The current study reports that a large proportion of child-orientated REBCs are less healthful; similar concerns have been reported by others [9,19,24,26]. The larger proportion of less healthful REBCs observed in the Latin American countries may be due to the lower protein and fibre combined with higher sugar content.…”

“…Similar findings are reported for REBCs in Guatemala [12], Mexico [8] and Ecuador [13]. However, there is a well-established body of evidence that consistently highlights concerns about the nutritional quality of REBCs and yoghurts marketed to children, in particular the high sugar content, while other nutrients of concern are fat, sodium, protein and fibre [9,[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. In the UK, REBCs and yoghurts contribute to 15% and 16% of free sugar intake in children aged 1.5-10 years, respectively [11].…”

“…In the Latin American countries examined here, REBCs contained significantly higher sugar content than those of the UK. High sugar content of REBCs has been previously reported in several countries [9,19,26]. It is also known that REBCs targeting children are higher in total sugar than REBCs targeting adults [24].…”

“…We focused on REBCs and yoghurts because they are important contributors to children's nutrient intake in both the UK and Latin America. REBCs have become part of the diet patterns of children in Latin America [8,9], while yoghurt sales are projected to grow [10]. In the UK, cereals are the main sources of micronutrients in children aged 1.5 to 10 years, while yogurts provide 5% of protein and 8% of calcium intake in children aged 1.5 to 10 years [11].…”

Child-targeted TV advertising and preschoolers' consumption of high-sugar breakfast cereals

“…However, their SBC brand intake was not zero, indicating that SBC TV advertising is not the only factor associated with consumption. Other factors may include parental or sibling preference for the consumed SBC, as well as point-of-purchase exposure to advertising, both of which have been noted in prior research (Devi et al, 2014; Lapierre, Vaala, & Linebarger, 2011; Soo, Letona, Chacon, Barnoya, & Roberto, 2016). Identifying the relative influence of these other factors is an important direction for future work.…”