Well that is a smart choice to bail on smart choices. Most of the smartm choice foods appear to be junk food from what I can see anyway.

Honestly I dont see the big deal about it. If your kids are active to a small degree they arent going to get fat of sugar loops or frosted corn flakes. My parents let me eat all of that (I mostly ate Apple Cinnamon Cherios) stuff and I never gained a pound. Most kids between 9-13 going through a growth spurt will pass on practically anything in no time since their metabolisms are so high.

Im also going to point a finger at parents letting them eat this stuff and then letting their kids siton thier ass all day. My parents would kick me off the boob tube and would tell me to go outside. They made sure I was enrolled in some sort of sport as well. I turned out just fine.

@remington870_20ga: There is a difference between things that are healthy and things that will make you fat. Kids don't get fat off eating a bowl of fruit loops every morning. They are terribly unhealthy though.

I just saw a commercial yesterday with a few young kids talking about how great Froot Loops are for you because they have fiber.

Uh. No.

I grew up with Super Sugar Smacks, Sugar Frosted Flakes, and other cereals with sugar in the name, and was a thin kid. The problem is relying on only a carb heavy cereal for breakfast, with little excercise, extra fat laden foods in the evening (like fast food) and hours of television, computer, or Xbox. Even back in the sixties the phrase "as part of a balanced breakfast" was included. A serving is an ounce, not half a box.

That said, a horrible link between Baylor and the food industry.

@remington870_20ga: I sort of agree. All the old cereal commercials used to say something like "part of an active healthy lifestyle". Sure, the cereal itself might be full of sugar, but that should be balanced by the equally active lifestyle of the people eating it.

The main problem is that a decade ago, kids were more active, so all those calories were being burnt off. Nowadays, there's so much more crap in people's diets, and far less "active healthy".

@youbastid: Other than making you fat, sugar doesn't really have negative health effects. It's what your body needs

Oh, no! Who will tell me how to get healthy froot now?

Do you mean that Froot Loops don't have any froot in them? Next thing you are going to be telling me that crunch berries aren't actually berries! Someone should sue.

Comment got eaten - apologies if this double-posts.

@remington870_20ga: Im also going to point a finger at parents letting them eat this stuff

Really? Even in the midst of an obvious campaign to promote this stuff as healthy, good for you, and a smart choice?

If parents are making decisions based on the best available information, and if that information is a deliberate lie, should the finger really be pointing at the parents?

@morlo: Except for the fact that refined sugar has a high glycemic load. While probably not a huge problem for moderately active kids, it can be devastating for children(!) at risk for type-2 diabetes.

*Sighs* Gone are the days when the only child diabetics suffered from type-1. =/

My whole childhood seems robbed. I never knew they were "Froot" Loops...

I like the argument that they include Froot Loops because "they're a better choice than feeding your child donuts". I think donuts should be added because it's a better choice than feeding your child fried butter for breakfast.

@morlo: I love the stuff, but your body has no need whatsoever for refined sugar, and certainly none for Froot Loops. And there's no earthly way that they're considered a smart nutritional choice compared to what else is out there, since that's a category that really needs to offer something other than "not likely to kill you."

@dopplerd: They can get away with it because they're "Froot Loops," not "Fruit Loops". No actual fruit was harmed in the making of this cereal.

I love Froot Loops. And the frooty milk. I eat my Froot Loops with extra milk so I have more of that sweet, sweet sugary milk.

Just add fruit and milk and you'll have all of the nutritional value of... fruit and milk.

@TCama: That commercial really pisses me off actually... Aren't froot loops like 50% sugar by weight?

@outlulz: Froot Loops, donuts, and fried butter should all receive the smart choices check-mark. They are all infinitely better than feeding your child Jagged Metal Krusty-O's.

"...somehow convinced representatives from the Baylor College of Medicine to back them up"

Somehow my arse. The only question is how much the donation/grant was. Good for Baylor for coming to their senses.

Fruit Loops and donuts are smart choices. Kind of like how all the "Eating Right" products have HFCS in them.

@TCama: Kids don't generally eat the box, though.

I don't get it. Surely Froot Loops would be a "smart choice" and healthier than my usual breakfast choice of a tub of Crisco.

Actually...while inundating your kids with sugar 24/7 is bad news (especially high fructose corn syrup). I'd say one meal a day loaded with sugar (ie cereal) isn't a horrible idea. You'd figure maybe 40-50 grams in a bowl with milk. It's a lot, but that's got to keep the kid going the whole day. Plus...at least it's not splenda, aspartame, or any of that other crap.