Think about it: You have Tony the Tiger telling you that sugary Frosted Flakes are Grrrrrrrreat and Sunny the Coco Puffs bird telling you to go Cukoo for Coco Puffs. But where's Larry the Lion telling you to eat your fruit salad? Or Fiona the Frog telling you get your five to 10 veggie servings a day? OK, these examples are pretty lame but with the exception of Pop-Eye and his spinach, you have to admit that hardly any cartoon mascots are encouraging kids to get healthy. No wonder youngsters just keep getting bigger and bigger.

That's what they're saying over in Britain anyway, where the lack of healthy cartoon characters is causing a stir. Says one health reporter: "Cartoons are great fun for kids. We definitely don't want to see the end of popular characters like Tony the Tiger and the Honey Monster, but we do want to see them promoting healthier products. Food companies must play their part in the fight against childhood obesity and diet-related disease by acting responsibly."

What do you think? Are cartoon characters a big part of the obesity problem or is this just another excuse to deflect the blame from the lack of parental nutrition guidelines?

(via Calorie Lab)

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Frosted Flakes aren't as Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat! as Tony the Tiger would have us believe, apparently. Forgive me for the slightly outdated news, but apparently Tony passed away in November as a result of complications due to Type 2 diabetes, which he developed by eating nothing more than sugary cereal and milk. One of the main ingredients in Frosted Flakes is the dreaded (and sometimes deadly) high fructose corn syrup.

It's a sad end for the furry guy, who was once pitched as a sports mentor for kids. But really, how can you be a both a healthy mentor and a spokesperson for a sugar-laden cereal? Talk about contradictions.

Perhaps the tiger should have taken advice from Sid the Cookie Monster and made Frosted Flakes a 'sometimes' snack.

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