No magic

"Lose 10 lbs. The Heart Healthy Way!" say the boxes of Grape-Nuts, Raisin Bran, Shredded Wheat, and the other cereals in Post's Healthy Classics line. "Research by a leading cardiologist shows that people who ate 2 servings of Post Healthy Classics cereals each day, as part of a reduced calorie diet, LOST 10 LBS and reduced their risk factors for heart disease ..."

According to Post, half of the people in the study lost at least 10 pounds in 12 weeks by (1) replacing two meals a day with two bowls of Post Healthy Classics cereal, (2) cutting an average of 600 calories a day out of their diet, and (3) exercising for up to 45 minutes a day, five days a week. Well, duh.

While the company wouldn't say, we assume that the study didn't compare the cereal eaters to a control group--dieters told to exercise and cut calories but not to substitute Healthy Classics for other foods. So it's not clear how much (if any) credit the cereals deserve.

Bottom line: any healthy whole-grain cereal (shredded wheat, for example) could help you feel full while you cut calories, but none are magic bullets.

COPYRIGHT 2006 Center for Science in the Public Interest
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning