In the battle for the hearts of health-seeking Americans, cereal manufactures offer lower-sugar sweetened cereal, but experts say the new versions are almost nutritionally unchanged.

At the request of The Associated Press, nutrition scientists from five universities looked at cereals offered by both General Mills and Kellogg's and found that calories, carbohydrates, fat and fiber did not change significantly.

The lower-sugar option was offered because there was a demand from consumers, said Shelly Dvorak, spokeswoman for General Mills, which lowered sugar content in its cereals, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Trix and Cocoa Puffs.

"We had consumers writing in and calling in for reduced-sugar options," Dvorak said.

But although reducing sugar in the cereal, carbohydrates had to be added, Dvorak said. Because all General Mills cereals are made with whole grains, she said the cereals still have nutritional value.

"We feel confident about the health offering of our product," Dvorak said. "We are always looking for new ways to make products healthier."

Kellogg's, which offered Frosted Flakes and Fruit Loops cereals with reduced sugar content, could not be reached for comment about its products on Tuesday. Post offers one reduced-sugar cereal, Fruity Pebbles.

Olin Health Center nutritionist Ronda Bokram said she isn't surprised because healthy marketing strategies can often mislead consumers.

She said the changes were probably more psychological than beneficial.

"People buy it because they think it's healthy," Bokram

Some MSU students are curious, but skeptical, about the new products.

Human biology sophomore Isabel Machie said she bought a box of the reduced-sugar Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but didn't prefer the change.

"It tastes funny," Machie said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.