About half of the most aggressively marketed children's food with pictures or names of fruit on the packaging contains no fruit at all, according to a report to be released today at the 2007 California Childhood Obesity Conference in Anaheim.
Some of the least fruity products were cereal and yogurt, said lead author Leslie Mikkelsen, a dietitian for Prevention Institute, an Oakland-based nonprofit that promotes community-based health and safety programs.
She pointed to a box of Berry Berry Kix that showed a big spoonful of cereal with what at least looked like raspberries and blueberries.
"Parents do think cereals are a good way to start the day," Mikkelsen said, and they look at this one and think "it has the goodness of fruit."
But in fact, said Mikkelsen, pointing to the ingredients listed on the box, "all that's in there is red dye and blue dye."
Similarly, Yoplait Go-Gurt Strawberry Splash yogurt contained no strawberries. General Mills, the maker of both the cereal and the yogurt, declined to comment, saying the company had not seen the report.
Of the 37 products examined, 19 contained no fruit ingredients and six had only minimal amounts of fruit juice. Two contained 100% fruit juice, and 10 contained actual whole fruits, which have less sugar and more fiber and nutrients than juice alone.
"Today's parents are looking for healthier products for their children, but the food industry isn't making it easy for them," Mikkelsen said.
The six-page report, "Where's the Juice? Fruit Content of the Most Highly Advertised Children's Food and Beverages," was sponsored by the Strategic Alliance for Health Food and Activity Environments, a statewide coalition of public health and nutrition organizations. It comes amid growing concern about rising rates of obesity in children and adolescents, and a related surge in Type 2 diabetes.
Based on the 2004 California Physical Fitness Test, which is administered in public schools to fifth-, seventh- and ninth-graders, one study showed that the proportion of overweight children climbed to 28.1%, up from 26.5% in 2001.
As a result of these increases, the marketing of nonnutritious foods, their accessibility on school campuses and their content -- such as sugar and trans fats -- also are coming under closer scrutiny and regulation.
For this report, the researchers used data from a recent Kaiser Family Foundation study to identify the top-spending food advertisers on children's television programs.
