Purchases of ready-to-eat cereals vary across US household sociodemographic categories according to nutritional value and advertising targets

Abstract

Objective To describe ready-to-eat (RTE) cereal purchases in 2008 in the USA according to cereal nutritional quality and marketing strategy and household sociodemographic characteristics. Design Cross-sectional study of purchases in one year. Each type of cereal was assigned to one of four nutrition quality categories (based on Nutrient Profile Index, NPI) and one of four advertising categories based on television exposure and analysis of packaging (child-targeted, family-targeted, adult-targeted and no television advertising). Medians and distributions of purchase indicators were calculated for the cereal categories and the distributions were compared across sociodemographic groups. Setting RTE cereals (n 249) with complete label and nutritional content. Subjects RTE cereal purchases according to household sociodemographic characteristics obtained from Nielsen Homescan, a nationally representative panel of households. Results Purchases of RTE cereals were highest in households with one or more child and lowest in African-American and Asian households, as well as those earning