Food and beverage giants slash calories in US war on obesity

The world's largest food and beverage companies have exceeded a five-year goal set in 2010 to fight obesity by removing trillions of calories from products sold in the US, according to an independent evaluation.

In May 2010, 16 of the biggest food and beverage companies, from Coca-Cola to Kraft Foods, pledged to remove one trillion calories from the American market by 2012 and 1.5 trillion by 2015, compared with a 2007 baseline. As of 2012, they had sold 6.4 trillion fewer calories, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The companies say they accomplished this through changes ranging from reducing the sugar in chocolate-milk powder to introducing more ice-cream products with built-in portion control.

"Reports like this, and the fact that they exceeded their commitment by fourfold, really shows that you can make progress in giving American families more healthy options," said Larry Soler, of the Partnership for a Healthier America, a non-profit group chaired by first lady Michelle Obama.

The group was formed in 2010 to work with the private sector on anti-obesity strategies. At the time the Partnership was launched, critics said it relied too heavily on industry goodwill and called instead for stricter regulation on food production and marketing.

Even with the companies' success so far in reducing the calories they sell, some experts say that voluntary efforts by industry "are not a magic bullet".

Jeff Levi, executive director of Trust for America's Health, said that "particularly with kids, there is a role for regulation" in reducing demand for unhealthy, high-calorie fare.