Nutritional balance of mixed cereal crisps (descriptive statistics) - 2012

---

Data

PEREZGONZALEZ Jose D (2012). Nutritional balance of mixed cereal crisps (descriptive statistics). Knowledge (ISSN 2324-1624), 2013, pages 11-14. [DOI] [Printer friendly]

Mixed cereal crisps' BNI (description)

Perezgonzalez assessed the nutritional balance of mixed cereal crisps³ in 2012², as part of a research on the nutritional composition of snacks in New Zealand. This article provides descriptive information both about the sample of products under research (foodBNI) as well as about a hypothetical diet based on those products (dietBNI).

foodBNI

The distribution of nutritional balance, as shown in illustration 1, was split into two groups, possibly exacerbated by the small number of products under research. The median was located at BNI 37.91 and the middle 68% of products, due to the distance between the groups, ranged between BNI 31 (P₁₆) and BNI 129 (P₈₄). There was a slight positive skewness (mean=66.26, zSkew=1.66), although, given the shape of the distribution, this may be of little practical importance.

The distribution of nutritional balance varied slightly according to the particular recommended dietary intakes (RDIs) of reference, although all followed a pattern similar to the one just described. Even so, this group of products appeared slightly less unbalanced under US's, Australia's and, especially, UK's RDIs than under WHO's RDIs.

Illustration 1: Food's nutritional balance distribution
		International RDIs
Scale	BNI	WHO	US/CAN	AUS/NZ	UK
=0
>0
≥10			2
≥20	1	5	7	7	6
≥30	7	3		2	3
≥40	1	1
≥50
≥60
≥70
≥80
≥90
≥100
≥110			3	3
≥120	3	3			3
≥130			1	1
≥140					1
≥150	1	1
≥160
≥170
≥180
≥190
≥200
Median	37.91	35.11	28.19	29.73	20.28
SPR	49.05	52.88	45.63	41.15	46.34
P16	31.24	23.58	19.81	28.77	18.39
P84	129.34	129.34	111.07	111.07	111.07
RSkew	42.38	41.35	37.25	40.19	44.45
Mean	66.26	62.91	52.90	56.58	50.16
StDev	49.40	51.84	45.36	42.70	47.16
zSkew	1.66	1.61	1.64	1.69	1.65
zKurt	-0.77	-0.81	-0.80	-0.74	-0.82
Unstandardized	small	medium	large	( Avg.StDev )
effect size4	9	24	38	( 47 )

Correlations between indexes were high, thus supporting the idea of a common pattern in the distribution of nutritional balance across international indexes for this particular group of products.

Illustration 2: Correlations (Pearson and Spearman)
r / rho	BNI	WHO	US/CAN	AUS/NZ	UK
BNI		.918	.951	.813	.736
WHO	.998		.978	.637	.566
US/CAN	.999	.999		.676	.621
AUS/NZ	.998	.994	.997		.978
UK	.996	.990	.994	.999

dietBNI

As part of a hypothetical diet where all products contributed the same weight of crisps, the resulting nutritional unbalance would remain practically the same, so that there is no apparent benefit of eating such a varied diet over the average mixed cereal crisp.

Illustration 3: Diet's nutritional balance
Protein	Carbs	Sugar	Fat	Sat.fat	Fiber	Sodium
5.8	53.7	5.5	25.7	8.3	2.6	0.765
International RDIs		BNI	WHO	US/CAN	AUS/NZ	UK
(diet)		68.14	66.41	53.57	53.94	47.38
(Values per 100g)

Methods

Research approach

Exploratory study for mapping the nutritional balance of mixed cereal crisps³ in New Zealand.

Sample

A sample of 13 mixed cereal crisp products, including diverse brands and flavors, and other relevant categories (see Perezgonzalez, 2012²). Notwithstanding this, the actual products were collected in a convenient manner from four major national supermarket chains. The final sample covered most of the population of mixed cereal crisp products available at those supermarkets.

Variables

Variables of interest for this research were the following:

• Weight contribution of seven nutrients (protein, carbohydrate, sugar, fat, saturated fat, fiber and sodium) to 100g of a food product.
• The Balanced Nutrition Index (BNI) of each food product, as calculated from above variables.
• Aggregated information for the sample of products (foodBNI).
• Aggregated information about the individual nutrients for the simulation of hypothetical diets (dietBNI).

Materials & analysis

Relevant data were collated after purchasing the food products or by capturing such information from producers' websites if this information was available and was deemed reliable. The data were then assessed using the Balanced Nutrition Index™ (BNI™) technology (see Perezgonzalez, 2011¹).

SPSS-v18 was used for the computation of variables, including BNI and international indexes, and for descriptive statistical analyses.

Generalization potential

Although the research sample captured a large proportion of the mixed cereal crisp products available at the time, the resulting sample is still too small as for inferring anything beyond the group of products here described. It is recommended to collate the data from this group with that of related groups of products if inferential analyses are intended.

References

References

1. PEREZGONZALEZ Jose D (2011). Balanced Nutrition Index™ (BNI™). Journal of Knowledge Advancement & Integration (ISSN 1177-4576), 2011, pages 20-21.

2. PEREZGONZALEZ Jose D (2012). Crispy crisps. The Balanced Nutrition Index (ISSN 1177-8849), 2012, issue 7.

+++ Notes +++

3. Snacks made from a mix of two or more extruded cereals, or cereals and potato flour.

4. This is the estimated unstandardized effect size for group differences (Cohen's d and Glass's Δ) given an average standard deviation and following Cohen's d effect size interpretation. It can be used to ascertain the relative importance of descriptive data without the need to perform inferential tests.

---

Author

Jose D PEREZGONZALEZ (2012). Massey University, Turitea Campus, Private Bag 11-222, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand. (JDPerezgonzalez).

Want to know more?

BNI analysis of individual mixed cereal crisp products

You can access either the BNI™ database or the 'BNI™ journal (2012, issue 7) - Crispy crisps' for individual nutrition analyses of each food product in the sample.

Wiki of Science - Nutritional balance of foods

This Wiki of Science page collates information about several foods on a single page and provides useful links to the appropriate files.

Wiki of Science - Nutritional balance of mixed cereal crisps (introduction)

This Wiki of Science page provides an introductory descriptive analysis of the nutritional balance of mixed cereal crisps.

---

Other interesting sites

Knowledge

WikiofScience

AviationKnowledge

A4art

The Balanced Nutrition Index