Breakfast cereal consumption in young children: associations with non-milk extrinsic sugars and caries experience: further analysis of data from the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey of children aged 1.5-4.5 years

Objective: This study examined the relationship between breakfast cereal consumption and non-milk extrinsic sugars (NMES) intake and the possible implications of this for caries in preschool children. Methods: Data from the 1995 UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) of children aged 1.5 - 4.5 years were reanalysed. Four-day weighed food records and dental examinations were available on 1450 children living in private households in Britain. Children were classi r ed by tertiles (age-adjusted) according to the proportion of energy derived from breakfast cereals, and the amount of NME sugar from cereals. There were no signi r cant differences in social class background between any of the groups. Results: Children with diets high in breakfast cereals as a proportion of total energy (top third) had lower proportional intakes of NMES, compared with low consumers of cereals (lowest third). Consumption of sweetened cereals was positively associated with NMES intake. However, caries experience was unrelated to breakfast cereal consumption, whether presweetened or not. Conclusions: Although presweetened cereals are relatively high in NMES, their cariogenic potential is probably minimal in the circumstances in which they are normally consumed.