Mars Slims Down Candy

Kiss your king-size Snickers goodbye. Mars Inc., the maker of Snickers, Twix, and M&Ms, among other confections, has announced that it will stop selling chocolate products containing more than 250 calories by the end of next year. A spokesman for the Virginia-based company says the switch is part of Mars' "broad-based commitment to health and nutrition."

Mars has been making gestures toward responsible snacking since 2007, when it announced it would stop buying ad time or space for its candies at outlets where more than a quarter of the audience was likely to be less than 12 years old, Reuters reports. The calorie count on a king-size Snickers, incidentally, is 540. (More Mars Inc. stories.)