Mars Bars Are Losing Weight

Mars have announced they’re going to reduce the size of their chocolate bars so that none of them have more than 250 calories. This, they say, is a genuine attempt to help combat obesity.

A couple of years ago, Mars undertook a similar exercise where their best-selling treats, including the Mars and Snickers bars shrank from 62.5g to 58g. However, this wasn’t advertised and the price remained the same.

Back then as now, Mars claimed the reduction was designed to help tackle the obesity crisis in the UK. The difference this time is the focus is on the calorie content and the ingredients which includes lowering the saturated fat content.

A Mars spokesman said:

‘We believe that all of our products can be enjoyed as part of a healthy lifestyle and balanced diet. Our commitment to making all our chocolate products no more than 250 calories per portion reflects this.’

Lowering the saturated fat content and the calories in their chocolate snacks has to be a good thing. Most people generally buy a bar and eat the whole lot. So if it’s a bit shorter or smaller than before, it’s unlikely someone will buy another bar to make up for the shortfall, unless they’re regularly eating those enormous king-sized versions.

And of course they can be enjoyed as part of a healthy lifestyle, in moderation, like pretty much everything else.

When it comes to reducing the calories in their chocolate snacks, the majority are already under 250 calories - see (Calories in Popular Chocolate Bars). Among the popular Mars chocolates, it’s only the Mars Bars, Bounty Bars and Twix which have more than 250 calories (not including any of the king-size bars).

The changes are expected to be global by the end of 2013 and it will be interesting to see what happens to the prices!