I have taught the chemistry of cooking and written a popular book about it. The job of the food chemists who create all of those highly palatable snacks and desserts is not a secret. They are tasked with producing the best-tasting, most irresistible delights that they can. They are very good at it. Would we blame a chef for making a meal we enjoyed too much? Would we want a world full of only healthy unprocessed vegetables?

Likewise, the people tasked with advertising these food-like things are doing their very best to make your retirement fund enough money for you to quit working.

I don't blame any of these people for doing a great job. I deal with addictive foods by limiting what enters my house. I so seldom eat away from home that the occasional indulgence does me little harm. There are times when I over-indulge on something with little food value loaded with empty calories. But I don't blame anyone, even myself. I allow gluttony in moderation.

That said, I have chosen my parents very carefully, and my genes do not include the ones for addiction to things like alcohol or nicotine, so even though I can feel the pull of sugar addiction, I can resist most days. Not everyone was born as lucky as me.