Sugary cereals cut back on sugar for a healthier start in 2010!

Cereal giants like General Mills and Kelloggs are scaling back the sugar in some of their most popular cereals.

These sugary cereals have been under attack by many watchdogs especially since they heavily market to kids. With cereals being such a popular breakfast and snack for kids combined with the current childhood obesity trends, there has been a lot of pressure to reduce advertising or make the cereals healthier.

General Mills has a plan to have sugar reduced to less than 10 grams per serving by 2010 for some of their highly marketed kids cereals.

To give you an example:

• Lucky Charms had 12 grams of sugar in 2007
• Then reduced to 11 grams in 2007
• General Mills plans to reduce this popular kids cereal to less than 10 grams.

This is certainly a step in the right direction. Gradual changes are good because they allow our bodies to get used to it. If changes are too dramatic, kids might not like the taste because their taste buds are expecting more sugar.

General Mills' less-sugar announcement covers the 10 cereal brands advertised to children younger than age 12: Cocoa Puffs, Cocoa Puffs Combos, Cookie Crisp, Cookie Crisp Sprinkles, Frosted Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Reese's Puffs and Trix — as well as two children's brand already under the sugar threshold, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Honey Nut Cheerios.

Although I would like to believe that General Mills is making this change from the goodness of their hearts and concern for our children's well-being, I imagine there is a financial incentive. I understand that with the growing trend towards healthier eating, the company is finding that it can increase sales by making it healthier! That just reminds us of the power that we consumers really have.

We can guide manufacturers to make healthier products if we show them that is what we really want.

You can do this by setting "healthy eating" family goals. Remember to keep them simple and small. Just like the General Mills example above - gradually change your kids' habits and it will be an easier adjustment for the kids and really, the whole family!

Resources:

Setting healthy goals - fun contracts

Tracking healthy goals - fun tracking sheets