Oct. 1, 2008 -- Cereal can be a great choice for a quick and nutritious breakfast, but some choices represent the nutritional equivalent of a doughnut in a bowl, according to a new investigation from Consumer Reports.

The group evaluated 27 of the breakfast cereals that are most heavily marketed to children, considering not just their sugar content, but also the amount of sodium, fiber, calories, and nutrients in a recommended serving.

Two of the worst-rated cereals -- Post’s Golden Crisps and Kellogg’s Honey Smacks -- were more than 50% sugar with very little fiber.

A serving of Honey Smacks has 15 grams of sugar -- 3 more grams than is found in a Dunkin’ Donuts glazed doughnut. Golden Crisps has 14 grams of sugar in a 3/4 cup serving and less than 1 gram of fiber.

In all, 11 of the tested cereals had 12 or more grams of sugar per serving, or as much as the glazed doughnut, Gayle Williams of Consumer Reports Health tells WebMD.

“Parents who would never give their children doughnuts for breakfast may be choosing these cereals without knowing that from a nutritional standpoint they really aren’t much better,” she says.