Sugar Is Bad, Part I: Giving "Candy Girl" a Whole New Meaning

I have bribed my children with sweets. And, unless you're a liar, you'll admit that you have, too. I had always assumed that too many of these transactions would lead to children who were fat and spoiled, but apparently, according to some study, too much candy turns the kids into criminals.

This British study claims that more than two-thirds of the people who committed a violent crime (vending-machine assault? grand theft Butterfinger?) by the age of 34 were once kids who "ate candies or chocolates daily at age 10."

The article doesn't explain how much candy these kids are consuming each day — a fun-size Kit Kat or a crate of M&Ms? — or whether the kids are also getting a balanced diet and enough exercise, and one of study's principals even says, "It's not fair to blame [all crime] on the candy."

Here are some of the exact details:

Of the children who ate candies or chocolates daily at age 10, 69 percent were later arrested for a violent offense by the age of 34. Of those who didn't have any violent clashes, 42 percent ate sweets daily.

So if your kid pounds a Milky Way every day, there's a two-in-three chance he'll commit a violent crime, but an almost 50% chance that he won't? And what about the 31 percent of the violent criminals who aren't snacking every day? What are they eating for breakfast.?

I think there's a simpler syllogism: sugar is in candy, candy causes bad teeth, Brits have bad teeth, THEREFORE all Brits eat too much candy, no matter what their age is. Read more...