All Blog Posts from Couric & Co.

Froot Loops, Cookie Crisp, Reese's Puffs - I almost got a cavity just reading that. Yet, they're the kinds of sugary cereals children beg for at the grocery store.

The boxes and T-V ads usually have a colorful cartoon character on them. But, one group of researchers is not amused.

The Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University reports that cereal companies spend more than $156 million a year on ads geared for kids.

At a time when 12 percent of U.S. children from ages 2 to 5 are considered obese - along with 17 percent of kids 6 to 11 - this problem is anything but sweet.

All parents have been there in that grocery aisle - having to decide between what the kids want and what you know is better for them.

But maybe some oatmeal for your Little Miss Sweet Tooth can help her avoid big health issues in the future.

Don't let a bunny or a tucan take over your parenting role. Tell them you are coo coo for good nutrition, not for Cocoa Puffs.

That's a page from my notebook.

I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.

It's the most explosive moment for the soda industry since the Diet Coke and Mentos experiment.

Some leading health experts are calling for a sin tax on the surgary beverages Americans drink, like it's going out of style.

They say that a tax of one cent per ounce on soft drinks sweetened with sugar could be a major source of revenue for health care reform - pulling in nearly 15 billion dollars a year.

It may also be a way to combat obesity. UCLA researchers found that people who drink soda are 27 times more likely to be overweight. A regular, daily soda drinker can consume - get this - 39 pounds of sugar a year just from those drinks. Gulp!

President Obama thinks the tax is an idea worth exploring, and some lawmakers say taxes on cigarettes have reduced smoking and raised revenues.

Without a doubt, the idea is bubbling up in Washington and it could soon give soda companies some major gas pains.

That's a page from my notebook.

I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.