Lower-sugar foods: some are diet traps.(CR Health)

The latest food trend seems like good news for weight control. Over the past year, manufacturers have introduced lower-sugar cereals, soft drinks, ice cream, yogurt, juices, and even pasta sauce. Many include sucralose (Splenda), a compound derived from sugar that has no demonstrated health risks and, because it's not metabolized, no calories.

Increased refined-sugar consumption has been linked to rising obesity in the U.S., and some of these lower-sugar products may help with weight loss. But a CONSUMER REPORTS label analysis found that like many "low-carb" products, some lower-sugar foods--notably cereals--have the same calories as the originals. And because they're still sweet, they may not help tame your sweet tooth, if that's your goal.

Consider the new lower-sugar General Mills cereals: Cocoa Puffs, Trix, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. While their labels note 75 percent less sugar than the originals, their calorie and carbohydrate counts per serving are the same, given the added grain per ounce. All use the artificial sweetener sucralose.

Kellogg's new lower-sugar Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops have one-third less sugar and no artificial sweeteners. But because they, too, have more grain per ounce, they have the same carbohydrate and calorie counts as the originals. The new cereals are less dense and the labeled serving sizes larger by volume; you'd get fewer calories with the old serving sizes.

Other lower-sugar foods have reduced calories. Coca-Cola's new C2 has half the calories of the original. Edy's/Dreyer's No Sugar Added chocolate ice cream is 90 calories--vs. 150--for a 1/2-cup serving. Both use sucralose; C2 uses other artificial sweeteners as well.

"Low-sugar foods and beverages can play a role when people are trying to reduce," says Rachel Johnson, Ph.D., R.D., professor of nutrition at the University of Vermont. But, she added, "It's not going to help to reduce the sugar if the calories per serving are the same."

WHOLE-GRAIN BENEFITS