New study says eating cereal for breakfast promotes healthier lifestyle

MINNEAPOLIS A new study from The General Mills Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition in Minneapolis reports that eating cereal for breakfast may help manage people’s weight and encourage a more healthy eating regimen throughout the day. Published in the Nov. 21 issue of Nutrition Research, the “Consumption of Breakfast Cereal” study referenced data from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s “Growth and Health” study, which recorded the daily diet of 2,379 girls aged between nine and 10 from 1987 to 1997.

Researchers hypothesized that cereal ingredients were linked to positive health results, foods eaten with cereal (e.g., milk) were possibly connected to positive health results and cereal eating may significantly contribute to positive health results. The study’s data proved that cereal eaten at breakfast contains healthier ingredients and less fat, protein, sugars and carbohydrates than foods eaten during non-cereal breakfasts. More milk is consumed with cereal than without, thereby connecting cereal breakfasts with higher calcium intake. Cereal breakfasts were also found to be associated with eating better throughout the day, an increase in physical activity and a decrease in soda consumption.

Researchers concluded that eating cereal for breakfast may contribute to maintaining a healthy diet and physical activity among girls.