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Great news in the health and nutrition industry today - PepsiCo will remove all sugary drinking from schools worldwide by 2010 in an aim to cut down on childhood obesity. After months of negotiating with the World Heart Federation, they have decided to pull all full-calorie, sweetened drinks currently found in schools in more than 200 countries.

Coca-Cola, the number 1 soft drink maker in the world adopted similar guidelines for U.S. schools in 2006. Coca-Cola will now only supply soft drinks to primary schools if parents or school districts request them. PepsiCo will only supply water, fat-free or low-fat milk, as well as unsweetened juice to primary schools. Secondary schools will sell the same drinks along with low-calorie soft drinks.

In other news, Kraft Foods announced that it would cut the salt in its products sold in North America by an average of 10% over the next two years in an effort to appeal to shoppers that are increasingly becoming more health conscious. Kraft Foods will reduce the salt in Oscar Mayer Bologna by 17% while Easy Mac Cups will be cut by 20%.

It's great to see that these multi-billion dollar conglomerates are finally stepping up to the plate and changing their ways. In the past, these companies placed profits ahead of health and these measures that they've taken are a big step in combating obesity and heart health. Now if only McDonald's would get rid of their McGriddle which consists of bacon, egg and American cheese served on a small pancake injected with maple flavoring.