Should we ban candy at cash registers?

A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine claims that placing confectionery at the cash register increases impulse purchasing and is consequently a risk factor for obesity and chronic diseases. The authors suggest restricting foods with high sugar, fat or salt contents to locations that require a deliberate search to find.

I don’t doubt that positioning candy at tills increases sales – we have all stood waiting in a queue and grabbed a chocolate bar out of boredom, but does this necessarily lead to obesity? This is quite an extreme statement to make, the odd extra purchase of a chocolate bar is highly unlikely to lead to a chronic disease. Such diseases are the result of a person’s overall diet, lifestyle and genetics.

Moreover, the authors suggestion of restricting the location of confectionery is unlikely to stop people from buying it. Most people who can’t find an item ask a shop assistant.