Cereal 'as unhealthy' as biscuits

The Food Commission suggests toast for breakfast

Eating a bowl of some "luxury" breakfast cereals is as unhealthy as having five chocolate chip cookies, according to research.

The Food Commission, which carried out the study, says although people choose cereals for a healthy way to start the day, many brands contain too much sugar and saturated fat - linked to heart disease - and not enough fibre.

The watchdog suggests bran flakes, muesli and toast, which contain up to four times the fibre with considerably less saturated fat, as alternatives.

But manufacturers say shoppers know the risks.

'Indulgent' product

Most sugar content

Sainsbury Strawberry and Banana Crisp

Mornflake Triple Chocolate Crisp

The cereal with most saturated fat - six grammes per 50 gram bowl - was found to be Quaker's Harvest Crunch with red berries.

It also contains 13g of sugar, nine of fat and just two of fibre.

Waitrose Chocolate and Nut Crisp and Marks and Spencer's Decadence cereal each contain 5g of saturated fat per bowl, according to the study.

While Tesco Choc and Nut Crisp was one of many found to contain just 2g of fibre per bowl.

Most fat content

Tesco Choc & Nut Crisp

Waitrose Chocolate and nut Crisp

Food Commission nutritionist Annie Seeley said these cereals should not be eaten every day.

Catherine Collins, of the British Dietetic Association, said some luxury brands of cereal contained as much saturated fat as a heaped teaspoon of margarine.

However, she said that fortified, flake-type, brand-based cereals were a very healthy food product, and the milk that we pour over them provided a third of our daily recommended level of calcium.

She said: "If you are looking at the side of a cereal packet, look for something that contains less than two to three grammes of fat for a healthy breakfast."

'Choice'

A Tesco spokesman agreed Choc and Nut Crisp was an "indulgent" product.

Cereals were labelled with nutritional information so customers could make an informed choice, he added.

Waitrose agreed its customers took an informed interest and "realise a chocolate product is different from a muesli".

But a spokesman stressed "the importance of a balanced diet", as did Quaker.