Kellogg said the ban would cover products that did not meet nutrition guidelines for calories, sugar, fat and sodium.

The US firm also will stop using toys to promote foods unless the products meet the guidelines, according to a report in The New York Times.

The changes come after Kellogg and Viacom - the parent company of TV channel Nickelodeon - were threatened with a lawsuit over advertisements aimed at children.

Two pressure groups, the Centre for Science in the Public Interest and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, and two parents from Massachusetts made the threat.

In Hong Kong, Dietitian Association chairwoman Sylvia Lam See-way said the government should tighten control over commercials for food marketed to children.

'When children see those toys or characters on TV commercials, they ask parents to buy the foods for them. More education is also needed for parents to choose the right foods for children,' Ms Lam said.

Consumer Council spokesman Kenneth So Wai-sang agreed, praising Kellogg for its corporate social responsibility.

The deputy chairman of the Legislative Council's food safety and environmental hygiene panel, Fred Li Wah-ming, also said the move in the US could serve as a good reference for Hong Kong.

'We might start with something from this,' Mr Li said. 'But the constitutions of Asian children might not be the same as those in the west.'

Kellogg's voluntary changes are to be implemented over the next 18 months, according to The New York Times. These will apply to about half of the products Kellogg markets to children worldwide, including Froot Loops and Apple Jacks cereal and Pop-Tarts.

Kellogg's president and chief executive, David Mackay, said at the company's head office in Michigan that products that did not meet the new guidelines would be reformulated so they did or they would no longer be advertised to children.

A co-founder of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood in the US, Susan Linn, said Kellogg's decision to stop using licensed characters to advertise sugary food was particularly significant. 'Until now the industry has absolutely dug in its heels,' she said.

Kellogg Company is a leading producer of cereal and convenience foods, including biscuits, crackers and cereal bars. Its products are made in 17 countries and marketed in more than 180.

In recent years, US health officials have warned consumers that food advertisements aimed at children are contributing to the number of overweight or obese children.