It seems that the cereal bars, considered by many as the healthy option, aren’t as good for you as first believed.
A recent study has shown that almost all of the 30 top-selling bars contain more sugar than consumer might think. In fact some of them have more sugar in them than your favourite chocolate biscuits.
It might help the medicine go down but too much sugar is bad for you.
The research also found that some of the cereal bars aimed at children are high in saturated fat which can lead to a number of health problems including high cholesterol.
Richard Lloyd boss of Which?, who looked at the content of the bars, commented on the findings: ‘People often choose cereal bars in the belief that they are healthier than chocolate or biscuits but our research shows this can be a myth.’
He went on to say that the marketing and shop placement of such bars ought to be clearer: ‘With high levels of sugar and saturated fat in some of the products, they should be on the sweet counter, not marketed as health foods.’
Parents might have to rethink what is going into their child’s lunchbox.
While not all of the cereal bars tested were found to be unhealthy, this research will mean a change in lunch time purchases for many individuals and families.