Few can resist the allure of a nice big bowl of sugary cereal. Whether Fruit Loops, Cookie Crisp or Lucky Charms are your thing (I personally have a weakness for Reese's Puffs), a delicious bowl of sweet cereal is the go-to after-school or midnight snack of many kids and teens. But the days of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Cocoa Pebbles may be numbered.
General Mills has reduced the sugar in most of its kids' cereals to 10 grams per serving from levels as high as 15 grams. Before 2007, for example, the average amount of sugar per serving in Kellogg's Froot Loops, Apple Jacks and Corn Pops was 15 to 16 grams, whereas today the average is 10 to 12 grams per serving. General Mills has recently announced that they're aiming to reduce the grams of sugar in their cereals to single digits in the near future.
But will they be able to preserve the taste that kids love? Surely, as the sugar content goes down, something will be lost. After all, what will be left in these cereals once the sugar is gone?
What do you think -- are these restrictions necessary, given the prevalence of childhood obesity? Should food companies stop marketing junk food to children? Or should dietary choices be left to parents and kids themselves? Sound off in the comments!
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story indicated that cereal is nutrition-less and that Cocoa Puffs are 44% sugar. There are 14 grams of sugar in Cocoa Puffs, and General Mills cereals do include nutrients.