The Benefits of
Cereal

Cereal is one of the healthiest breakfast choices you can make. Frequent cereal eaters tend to have healthier body weights.

A guide to cereal nutrition and health

Providing nourishment is an important mission. The information that follows provides key insights and facts about cereal, its ingredients and the roles they play in contributing to overall health. Select titles from the list below to read more.

Cereal & Weight

Frequent cereal eaters tend to have healthier body weights – and that includes people who choose presweetened cereals. It’s true of men. It’s true of women. And it’s true of kids.

A large study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association followed 2,000 American girls over a 10-year period. It found that girls who demonstrated a consistent cereal-eating pattern had healthier body weights and lower Body Mass Index (BMI) than those who did not. Frequency of breakfast consumption and cereal consumption declined with age, but girls who continued to eat cereal frequently maintained a healthier body weight through adolescence.

Ready-to-eat cereals, including presweetened cereals, also made significant nutrient contributions in the diets of the girls. Forty-one percent of the cereals consumed in the study were presweetened. Still, the number of days eating cereal – including presweetened cereal – remained predictive of lower BMI and higher nutrient intakes.⁵

A second study reported similar results. Cereal consumption was associated with better nutritional status and a lower likelihood of weight gain among adolescents. This study found that although the frequency of breakfast eating declined with age, days on which the girls ate breakfast were associated with higher calcium and higher fiber intake.¹⁵

Another study found that breakfast consumption is associated with a lower body weight,⁶ especially when cereals are consumed, while yet another study found that people who reported consuming a breakfast of cereal had healthier body weights than those who consumed higher fat breakfasts.¹

Data published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that:²

• Frequent cereal eaters tend to have healthier body weights overall – including kids.
• Kids who eat four to seven servings of cereal over a 14-day period are less likely to be overweight than kids who eat fewer than four servings of cereal.
• Kids who eat cereal more frequently, or more than seven times in 14 days, are even less likely to be overweight than kids who eat cereal less frequently. This is true for all age groups studied.

• Cereal & Weight
• What About Sugar?
• Whole Grain
• Cereal and Nutrition
• Packaging Nutrition Highlights
• Lowering Cholesterol with Cheerios
• Ongoing Research

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of Cereal Brochure