The label says it’s healthy, so you buy it for your kids. But how healthy is that snack your kids are currently munching on?

Well, says a newly published study, there’s a good chance your kids are not getting what you bargained for when it comes to a nutritional edge.

According to a detailed study published in the UK-based Obesity Review, nine out of ten regular food items aimed specifically at kids qualify as “poor nutritional content,” thanks to high levels of fat, sodium, or sugar. Of the 367 products tested, just fewer than 70 percent derived most of their calories from sugar. One in five had high levels of fat, and 17 percent had higher than optimal sodium levels.

And yet, 62 percent of the PNQ (poor nutritional quality) food items made positive claims about their nutritional value on the front of the package.

Oh, just for the record, we aren’t talking about confections, soft-drinks, or bakery items here. All were excluded from the study.

While it may be best to go for organic, locally grown, fresh foods, it’s just not always possible for many families to not rely, at least in part, on pre-packaged foods. And pre-packaged or not, many parents are still searching for the healthiest options for their kids.

“Parents may have questions about which packaged foods are good for their children. Yet certain nutritional claims may add to the confusion, as they can mislead people into thinking the whole product is nutritious,” said University of Calgary, Canada, Professor Charlene Elliott in a Medical News Today story on the subject.

Elliott is also a Trustee of the Canadian Council of Food and Nutrition.

Of the products tested, only 11 percent provided good nutritional value based on the criteria from the US-based Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a non-profit that received the Food and Drug Administration’s highest honor in 2007.

So what are those standards, exactly? According to the CSPI, which adapted its standards from the US-based National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity, healthy food should not derive more than 35 percent of its calories from fat and should have no more than 35 percent added sugar by weight. (Nuts, seeds, and nut butters are not included in that particular equation.) Healthy sodium levels are considered to be in the range of 230 mg per portion for snacks to no more than 770 mg per portion for pre-packaged meals.

Researches purchased items clearly marketed to kids—either by promoting fun and play, being linked to children’s programming, or having cartoon images on the packaging—from a national supermarket chain in 2005.

The 367 products included in the study were bought from a national supermarket chain stocking 50,000 food and non-food items in December 2005. Each had to meet very specific criteria. Products were then subjected to a 36-point analysis, which factored in the nutritional content and how the packaging was designed to appeal to parents and their kids.

A few interesting points from the study include:

• A whopping 63 percent of tested products made some sort of nutritional claim, even if they could be classified as unhealthy. For example, peanut butter mixed with chocolate touted that it was a “source of six essential nutrients” and cereals and fruit snacks—notorious for their high sugar content—made nutritional claims on the packaging, such as “source of whole grain,” or “low in fat.”

• Crackers and pizza were listed as high offenders for making nutritional claims despite having higher than recommended sodium levels.

• Even though they are notorious for high sugar content, cereals and fruit snacks were “particularly likely” to make claims such as “low in fat,” “source of whole grains,” or “source of iron.”

Researchers did note that assessing sugar levels accurately proved to be a bit of a challenge, since nutritional labels only state total sugars, as opposed to differentiating between those naturally occurring and those artificially added.

But even so, it’s obvious there should be major cause for concern. Parents and caregivers are more likely to purchase what they think their kids will eat, but no nutritional claim on any box can cancel out the negative effect of the actual ingredients.

So what’s a harried shopper to do when they are rushing through the grocery aisles in order to get home, get dinner on the table, help with homework, and perhaps set aside some time for themselves? Well, stop buying peanut butter mixed with chocolate for its nutritional value, for one.

And take the time to read the labels. Companies will do what they need to do in order to sell their products. It’s called marketing. But it doesn’t mean we have to fall for it, or have our kids suffer because we chose to believe the nutritional claims on a cereal box.