TABLE 11.

Body of evidence summary on breakfast cereals and hypertension¹

Evidence statement and components	Grade	Rating	Notes
Regular consumption of breakfast cereals may reduce the risk of hypertension	D	—	Body of evidence is weak and must be applied with caution
Evidence base		Satisfactory	3 Level II studies (RCTs) (all positive quality)
			1 Level III study (cohort) (positive quality)
			2 Level IV studies (cross-sectional studies) (all positive quality)
Consistency		Poor	1 cohort and 2 cross-sectional studies suggest protective effect but 2 of 3 RCTs with oats show no effect
Clinical impact		Good	ORs: 0.64–0.81 in cohort and cross-sectional studies
Generalizability		Satisfactory	The largest cohort study and 1 of the RCTs are both in men only
Applicability		Excellent	Directly applicable in populations in whom breakfast cereals are consumed regularly
Regular consumption of breakfast cereals is not associated with an increased risk of hypertension	C	—	Body of evidence provides some support for recommendation but care should be taken in its application
Evidence base		Satisfactory	3 Level II studies (RCTs) (all positive quality)
			1 Level III study (cohort) (positive quality)
			3 Level IV studies (cross-sectional studies) (all positive quality)
Consistency		Excellent	None show increased blood pressure or risk of hypertension
Clinical impact		Poor	Nil effect
Generalizability		Satisfactory	The largest cohort study and 1 of the RCTs are both in men only
Applicability		Excellent	Directly applicable in populations in whom breakfast cereals are consumed regularly

¹RCT, randomized controlled trial.