Hostess Twinkies have served as a brown-bag delight for decades, and now the parent company of the sweet treats is in a sour state financially.

The bankruptcy filing of Hostess Brands, which makes Twinkies, Ho Hos, Ding Dongs, Suzy Q's and other sinfully succulent snacks, confirms that everything changes, including eating habits.

Long before the term "empty calories" entered the national lexicon, moms included Hostess treats as a matter of course in a child's lunch or doled them out as after-school snacks. Hostess' financial problems suggest that a nation struggling with obesity has begun to take nutrition more seriously.

Three Omaha fourth-graders sat in their principal's office recently to discuss Twinkies, which have been around since 1930. For Hostess Brands, which apparently will continue to produce treats for the short term at least, their comments were encouraging.

"They're delicious," Olivia Bartek said. "I love the cream filling inside of them."

"I think they're delicious, too," Yanin Herrera said.

From top, Olivia Bartek, Yanin Herrera and Evan Ball

"I love Ho Hos," piped up Evan Ball. "They're, like, really creamy, and I like the chocolate around the outside of it."

Their Fullerton Elementary Magnet School principal, Craig McGee, couldn't resist. "My favorite are Suzy Q's, by far," McGee said. "Now that my metabolism has slowed, my wife doesn't allow me to have Suzy Q's anymore. It's part of the compromise you make when you're married, I guess."

"Maybe they should put a little less filling in them," Evan said.

"I think they're perfect how they are," Yanin said.

"I think maybe they should find a way to make less calories and maybe make them a little smaller," Olivia suggested.

Hostess Brands, which has filed for bankruptcy for the second time in several years, has multiple problems. They include increasing competition and high pension and benefit costs. But experts also say Americans have begun to eat more fruits, veggies and whole-wheat bread and perhaps fewer high-calorie snacks.

Hostess Brands also produces Wonder and Nature's Pride breads, Dolly Madison products and other foods.

Nessie Ferguson, a registered dietitian at the Nebraska Medical Center, said a healthy diet can include an occasional snack.

"I'm from back in Pennsylvania, so we had Tastykakes," she said.

Ferguson said the key is controlling portions and burning calories through exercise. One Twinkies cake contains 150 calories. About a mile-and-a-half of walking would burn that off, she said.

She advised against having a Twinkies snack before bed every night, however.

But the nation's obesity problem isn't the fault of Twinkies.

"We can't really blame one food," she said. "It's a combination of many things that led us to where we are today."

Nevertheless, if Hostess's difficulties indicate Americans have started to see that heavy-duty snacking leads to an overweight society, then there's some good news in the company's bad news.

The kids at Fullerton Elementary understood.

"I used to eat a ton of them," Evan said of Hostess's treats, "but they're kind of fattening, so I need to kind of lay off of them."

Principal McGee recalled when he used to snack on Snickers bars and Ho Ho's. He opened the snack drawer in his office and pulled out the protein and oatmeal bars that have replaced candy and snack cakes.

Looking at the new snacks, he said nostalgically: "How sad is that?"

***

Here's a comparison of Hostess Twinkies and other snacks considered to be more healthy. We included portion size, calories, calories from fat, total fat, saturated fat and fiber. For the first five things listed, low numbers are good. For fiber, the higher the better.

This report includes material from the Associated Press.

Contact the writer: 402-444-1123, rick.ruggles@owh.com

« Live Well - Fitness & Nutrition

Share