I heard this story as I was drinking my morning coffee with my sweet roll, and couldn’t believe what I was hearing. A new commentary published online in the Feb. 1 issue of Nature says sugar is just as “toxic” for people as alcohol and tobacco and therefore, the government should step in to curb its consumption.

The United Nations announced in September 2011 that chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer and diabetes contribute to 35 million deaths worldwide each year, according to the commentary. The U.N. pegged tobacco, alcohol and diet as big risk factors that contributed to this death rate.

Two of those are regulated by governments, “leaving one of the primary culprits behind this worldwide health crisis unchecked,” the authors, Robert H. Lustig, Laura A. Schmidt and Claire D. Brindis, argued.

They said that over the past 50 years, sugar consumption has tripled worldwide. That’s also helped contribute to the obesity epidemic – so much so that there are 30 percent more obese people in this world than there are malnourished people.

So, what is your take on this? Should the government step in and regulate sugar?  Would they regulate it by age? By how much you weigh? By how responsible you are with your diet? Would you have to show a medical sugar consumption card like the medical marijuana card people have to show in Michigan to buy the weed? Or, maybe mothers would have to give children a signed permission slip to buy a candy bar.

And then there’s the question of how much sugar you would be allowed to buy. I guess they’d have to ration it out by the pound. Maybe the amount of sugar you buy would directly correlate to your weight. Or maybe they will use Body Mass Index instead of weight so you don’t have to hop on a scale when checking out at the grocery store.

Gee, I hope they don’t use those talking scales. Can you imagine how embarrassing it would be when you’ve told all of your friends you only weigh 115 pounds and the scale starts reciting loudly, “I’m sorry, you weigh 198 pounds – no sugar for you!”

And where in the store would they keep the sugar-filled foods? Would this mean you would have to go through a designated checkout lane if you wanted to buy a candy bar, like when you buy tobacco?

And what about Christmas? What’s Christmas without all the sugary treats?

Well, Mr. Lustig, Ms. Schmidt and Ms. Brindis – what I think your idea, while noble in keeping the nation fit and trim, we might be better off using the balancing act of everything in moderation. While obesity continues to be a considerable problem, education spurring people into action may be a better use of your research dollars. 

It’s not rocket science that too much sugar is detrimental to our health. We know this. You don’t have to research this anymore. What we need to work on are solutions to preventing obesity.

We need to work on doing one intentional thing each day to moderate our eating habits. We need to figure out the mechanism that causes people to eat improperly and then find a solution for that.

Or, maybe we should just send the Occupy protesters in to protest against obesity or governmental sugar control, or something …

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Melissa Hart may write to her in care of this publication.