20120308 - Nutritional balance of wheat breakfast cereals - 2012

[Data]

[<Normal page] [PEREZGONZALEZ Jose D (2012). Nutritional balance of wheat breakfast cereals. Journal of Knowledge Advancement & Integration (ISSN 1177-4576), 2012, pages 85-87.]

Wheat breakfast cereals' BNI

Perezgonzalez assessed the nutritional balance of wheat cereals in 2012, as part of a research on breakfast cereals in New Zealand.

Wheat cereaks had, on average, a nutritional balance of BNI 31.11c, being particularly biased towards excess of carbohydrate. It was adequate in saturated fat, fiber and sodium, high in sugar, and low in protein and fat.

Illustration 1: Nutrition information (wheat)

BNI	31.11c	0.00

Food, 100g	2012	Ideal
Protein	11.6	17.3
Carbohydrate	69.5	47.5
Sugar	14.6	< 8.6
Fat	2.3	9.6
Saturated fat	0.4	< 0.4
Fiber	9.2	5.2
Sodium	0.234	< 0.345
Kcal	345.1	345.1
kJul	1443.9	1443.9

Illustration 2: Nutritional profile (wheat)

80%		*
75%		*
70%		*
65%		*
60%		*
55%		*
50%		*
45%		*
40%		*
35%		*
30%		*		*
25%		*		*
20%		*		*
15%	*	*		*
10%	*	*		*
5%	*	*	*	*
mid	p	c	f	fb
max		s	sf		na
5%		*			*
10%		*			*
15%		*

ideal % = grey cells; actual % = asterisk (*)

International standards

Wheat breakfast cereals appeared as slightly to moderately unbalanced according to international Recommended Dietary Intakes (RDIs).

Illustration 3: Nutritional balance across international RDIs

Wheat	(diet)	31.11	18.00	28.00	31.11	21.11

Product100g	Company	BNI	WHO	US/CAN	AUS/NZ	UK
Sanitarium puffed wheat	Sanitarium	31.88	21.88	31.88	31.88	21.88
Weet-Bix	Sanitarium	35.26	24.90	34.37	35.06	26.68
Pams wheat biskits	Pams	36.32	26.66	35.88	36.03	28.42
Homebrand wheat biscuits	Woolworths	37.46	27.54	36.57	37.11	30.06
Sanitarium Honey Puffs	Sanitarium	40.90	33.39	34.09	41.00	31.39
Fibre Life bran flakes	Sanitarium	41.40	32.84	39.72	39.40	34.85
J.R.Fields choc scoops	J.R.Fields	56.21	56.21	39.07	56.21	54.21
All-Bran Wheat Flakes honey almond	Kellogg's	61.40	65.14	30.78	59.70	71.87
All-Bran Wheat Flakes original	Kellogg's	68.58	65.39	64.39	62.92	78.70
J.R.Fields honey wheats	J.R.Fields	84.04	84.04	54.04	84.04	82.04
(Source: Perezgonzalez, 2012²)

Methods

Research approach

Exploratory study.

Data

The initial research sample included 79 breakfast cereals (ie, oats, wheat, rice, corn, bran and muesli)², collected in a convenient manner. The results in this study simply describe the 'subsample' of wheat breakfast cereals within the original sample: ie, 10 products.

Materials & analysis

Relevant data were collated, 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 statistical analyses.

Generalization potential

Most of the products were produced locally, although some may have been imported or exported, especially from and to Australia, respectively. Thus, the results of this study may be generalizable to the following populations (in order of decreasing generalization power):

Australia.
Internationally, if one assumes oat products to be of approximately similar nutritional composition anywhere.

References

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

2. PEREZGONZALEZ Jose D (2012). Breakfast cereals. The Balanced Nutrition Index (ISSN 1177-8849), 2012, issue 3. (Retrievable from http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/BNI)

Want to know more?

BNI™ database: The database offers individual nutrition analyses for foods, including the food referred to in above article.
BNI™ journal (2012, issue 3) - Breakfast cereals: This issue of the Balanced Nutrition Index™ journal collates all BNI™ nutrition information for the original sample in a single book.
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 appropiate files.