Mars bars cut levels of saturated fat

Added on 31/08/10

Author: Sarah Warman – Reporter

Just weeks after Kellogg’s announced their plans to revamp the nutritional content of Coco Pops, Mars has chosen to follow suit and re-launch their most iconic product, the Mars Bar, in an attempt to help us all lose weight.

For years Mars Bars have been the chocolate choice for many of us. Now, the chocolate bar, that is famously deep fat fried in some areas of the UK, has also undergone a healthy make-over. The new bars will have 15% less saturated fat in them than older versions.

The move to make the snack healthier is a result of increased concern by parents who are worried about their children’s nutritional intake. It is believed that experts spent around 40,000 man hours, as well as £10million, attempting to make MARS’ products taste the same despite the reduction in saturated fat.

No obesity solution

Appearing to acknowledge that the movie is no obesity solution MARS UK boss Fiona Dawson, said “this is not a PR stunt. You don't spend £10million for a PR stunt. I'm not trying to pretend chocolate is ever going to be healthy. It's about future-proofing our business, thinking about the future when consumers will want to know even more about products.”

This move will hopefully help parents, as well as children. Just under a quarter of all adults in the UK are now obese. Whilst eating these new chocolates is no obesity cure, many hope that these new products will spark a domino effect across the rest of the industry which could lead to healthier alternatives to the nation’s favourite snacks.

It has never been more important for us all to improve our diets in order to combat obesity. New figures recently revealed that the NHS is spending £32million per year on obese surgeries. Experts advise people that the best obesity solution is not surgery, but diet and exercise.