Are YOU a CEREAL OFFENDER?

Most people pour themselves far too much of their breakfast favourite as they don’t know what a portion looks like. So ...

Every morning, millions of us pour a bowl of cereal and eat it without a second thought. But, unless you get out the kitchen scales along with your milk and cornflakes, chances are that you’re serving yourself much more than you should.

Most cereal-makers recommend a portion of 30g. For granola or muesli (which are heavier), it’s around 45g.

However, researchers at Cardiff University, writing recently in the British Dental Journal, criticised those which use images on their packaging of overflowing bowls that are much bigger than the servings they advise.

In fact, the researchers noted, if bowls were filled by as much as those shown on many cereal boxes, we would be eating three times more — as much as 90g.

Meanwhile, a study by the British Heart Foundation found that 88 per cent of people poured a portion of cornflakes larger than the suggested 30g, with the average nearly 50 per cent bigger than the ideal. We should consume around 400 calories at breakfast and no more than 30g (7 teaspoons) of added sugar a day, according to advice from the NHS and Public Health england. But, thanks to large bowls and that suggestive imagery on packaging, many of us could be close to hitting our daily added sugar limit before even leaving the house in the morning. ‘Our brains are wired to take shortcuts, so we assume crockery sizes and images of portion sizes are “correct” and don’t require questioning,’ says Dr Jen Bateman, a clinical psychologist and author of your Weight Isn’t About Food. ‘We also have a “see food eat food” response that dates back to our evolutionary history, when food was scarce. So, rather than tuning into whether or not we’re truly hungry, we often feel unsettled when we don’t fill up a bowl or if we leave food on the plate.’ To ensure you’re serving the right amount of cereal, dietitian HELEN BOND weighed out the manufacturer’s recommended portion of 18 popular breakfast cereals then calculated how many dessert spoons it equated to. Helen also revealed how healthy each cereal is. We then gave each a health rating out of ten.