Are You A Cereal Offender? See Manufacturers’ Recommended Portions For You

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

Most manufacturers recommend a portion of 30g for cereal

And a recommended portion of around 45g for granola.

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

In fact, the researchers noted that, if bowls were filled by as much as those shown on many cereal boxes, we would be eating 3 times more — as much as 90g.

Moreso, a study by the British Heart Foundation found that 88 % of people poured a portion of cornflakes larger than the suggested 30g, with the average nearly 50% bigger than the ideal. We should consume around 400 calories at breakfast and no more than 30g (7 teaspoons) of added sugar a day.

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Thanks to the large bowls and the 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.

A clinical psychologist and author of ‘Your Weight Isn’t About Food.’, Dr Jen Bateman said:

“Our brains are wired to take shortcuts, so we assume crockery sizes and images of portion sizes are “correct” and don’t require questioning. As a people, 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.”