Did you crave cereals when you were a young teenager?

lizzyvera

My friends and I were talking the other day, and it turns out we all went through a breakfast cereal phase where we'd have about three massive bowls a day on top of normal meals when we were about 15. Then i asked my housemates and they all did too.

Did many people?

Do you think there's a nutritional reason for it, or is it just because they're fairly sugary? I don't think any of us got fat during the phase. I was thinking that it might have been that our meals weren't big enough, that we were eating normal portions, when 15 year olds need waaaay more than adults.

EileenG

It's because the manufacturers have spend a fortune designing a product which looks healthy and tastes addictive. Not to mention the factor that everyone has cereal at home, even in the houses where people don't buy sweets or biscuits, and it's pretty much instant food.

Take a look at the nutrition panel. Most cereals have a huge amount of sugar and salt, which is a really addictive combination. I've eaten cornflakes which didn't have added sugar, and believe me, no-one would eat more than one bowl of those.

rubadub

lizzyvera wrote: »

when 15 year olds need waaaay more than adults.

Thats it, and 15year olds like junk food, which is what 90% of cereals are.

It was the same in my house, overweight father with slowed metabolism was getting the biggest dinner, while the teenage boys were fed miserable amounts compared to what they really need. Nothing has changed, it is the same in most people houses. The kids go off feeding themselves by buying junk, I could not imagine many teenagers spending pocket money on nutritious food.

taram

Yeah same for me and my friends too, cereal required pretty much no effort, and because it was healthier than eating junk my mother would encourage it

shinny

When we were kids, we were only given Porridge for breakfast. When we went to my Grand-Dads, cereal was a treat !! Usually Rice Krispies !

I read somewhere that Irish people consume the most cereal of any European Country :eek:

rubadub

taram wrote: »

because it was healthier

More like because she was lead to believe it was healthier by scumbag marketers. Dunno how they still get away with fooling so many people. If cadburys released a bar with a half a multivitamin tablet sprinkled on it people would laugh, yet somehow if you stick it in a bowl and tell people to put milk on it then they are conned into thinking it is good food.

EileenG

shinny wrote: »

I read somewhere that Irish people consume the most cereal of any European Country :eek:

Big feature on this in the Guardian recently. The British eat the most, followed by the Irish. According to the feature, someone actually did an experiment where they fed rats with cardboard cartons with milk and sugar, and they did better than the rats fed on breakfast cereals.

Mr. Frost

Yeah and even later into my twenties!! Sometimes I used to get a mad craving for cocoa pops, I'd eat a box in two days! :pac:

Mr. Frost

rubadub wrote: »

More like because she was lead to believe it was healthier by scumbag marketers. Dunno how they still get away with fooling so many people. If cadburys released a bar with a half a multivitamin tablet sprinkled on it people would laugh, yet somehow if you stick it in a bowl and tell people to put milk on it then they are conned into thinking it is good food.

HealthIER, than junk food. And of course it is.

rubadub

Mr. Frost wrote: »

HealthIER, than junk food. And of course it is.

Depends on your definition of junk food. I would class the majority of cereals as junk food. Sugar puffs are 48-49% sugar, I would far sooner give a kid pizza or burgers in the morning.

Just read the packets, there is nothing hiding, just the ads make you think there is no need to check. Bran flakes are 22% sugar.

DéiseGirl

When we were growing up Corn Flakes was the "default" cereal and Rice Krispies were only bought for birthdays...my mother would make up a big batch of Rice Krispie buns and we'd be allowed have whatever cereal wasn't used up...oh the joy! To this day, I still get the odd cravings for Rice Krispie buns and have to rush out to the shop to buy the ingredients (wouldn't keep them in the house because I'd definitely be making them the whole time then!)
I never eat Corn Flakes these days btw...:D