PORTION SIZES
ARE UNREALISTIC. HERE'S HOW TO UNDERSTAND THEM.
How Does portion size affect recommended intake?
On the side of cereal boxes, the serving size is almost always 30g -
and the nutritional information is calculated on the basis of this figure.
On the side of cereal boxes, the serving size is almost always 30g -
and the nutritional information is calculated on the basis of this figure.
But research has found that most of us eat something more like 70g of cereal per serving. This means that we should be more than doubling the traffic light Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) figures.
30g Serving
70g Serving
Why the disparity? Because cereal manufacturers know that if we really understood what we're eating, we wouldn't go near it.
Cereal Portion Sizes Explained
Most people use the traffic light Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) figures on the front of the box to make a quick determination about how healthy a product is.
When it comes to cereals, the biggest question is often around sugar - but they can also have relatively high levels of fat and salt too.
The issue is that the recommended serving suggestion on the front of boxes - the way that the reference intake is displayed - is 30g.
If this sounds reasonable, try measuring out 30g of cereal and seeing whether it matches the amount you (or your children) would normally pour into your bowl.
According to research, 70g is a much more reasonable figure for our cereal - which means that the figures on the front of the box should be more than doubled.
Would you eat your favourite cereal if those numbers were realistic?
If in doubt, the best way to work out your true consumption is to look at the ‘per 100g’ figures on the back of the box and calculate on the back of your actual portion size.
Or you can use our handy calculator, which tells you everything you need to know.
How Do I Know
How Much Sugar I’m Eating?
Natural Sugars
Versus Added Sugars
On top of misrepresentative portion sizes, it’s likely that you’re reaching your sugar limit for the day much more quickly than you realise. This is because of the split between added (or free) sugars and natural sugars.
Natural sugars are sugars that are found in milk, vegetables and fruit. These are naturally occurring - and according to the NHS, they’re nothing to worry about.
Free or added sugars are what we are typically discussing when talking about highly sugary food and drink. These are artificial sugars that have been added for taste, and are much worse for us - so much so that an adult is recommended to have only 30g of free sugars per day.
But food and drink labels make no distinction between natural and free sugars, instead calculating their figures using the total daily limit of 90g. This is highly misleading when it comes to how much ‘bad sugar’ we are taking in.
To illustrate this, imagine your cereal is packed full of 42g of added sugar per 100g, with no naturally occurring sugars. Eating a 70g bowl of this cereal would see you eating around 30g of added sugar.
If Cereal had 42g of added sugar
=
70g Serving
30g Added Sugar
If we use the misleading total figure of 90g, you will have only had 30% of your daily sugar intake. But the reality is that you’ve met your free sugar limit for the day and anything more will see you go over.
The issue is that there’s no definitive way of telling how much of your cereal is comprised of free versus natural sugars.
Further complexifying portion size and reference intake is that children have different nutritional requirements.
What cereal Portion Size Should Kids
be eating?
Further complexifying portion size and reference intake is that children have different nutritional requirements.
For example, to break down free sugars:
-
Adults should have no more than 30g of free sugars a day.
-
Children aged 7-10 should have no more than 24g of free sugars
a day. -
Children aged 4 to 6 should have no more than 19g of free sugars
a day.
Despite the disparity in these and all other nutritional figures, cereal boxes are calculated solely on the back of adult requirements - even the cereals aimed squarely at children.
This means that cereal labels are grossly overstating the amount of sugar that children can safely eat.
And this isn’t even taking into account that children also regularly have more than the recommended 30g portion sizes. Some children help themselves to two bowls!
So when your child is helping themselves to a bowl of Frosties, be aware that the label isn't telling the whole story.