Is this a healthy attitude to our health warnings?

Yes, I am probably guilty of eating too much of it at times, of turning to sugar when I’m tired and of eating sweet stuff simply because it is there.

But, I am not an addict. Instead, I like a sweet treat sometimes and would consider myself to be fairly reflective of many of the population. (As an aside, never trust someone who says they don’t like chocolate or sweets. It’s just a bit weird, isn’t it?)

So when consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Neil MacLachlan launched an attack on tempting treats this week, citing Jersey’s addiction to unhealthy fatty foods, I couldn’t help but feel a little bit under attack myself as one of the thousands of shoppers who fuel this dark and dangerous trade.

It doesn’t take a doctor, of course, to know that eating too many fatty foods on a regular basis can cause obesity and the many potentially deadly diseases that go along with it including heart disease and cancer.

But Dr Maclachlan wasn’t just warning people about the dangers we already know about. He went further and said that the marketing of chocolates and sweets should be restricted in the same kind of way that cigarettes are. He also said that unhealthy snacks should not be placed near checkouts or promoted in a way that targets children.

Now, I don’t doubt that his comments were well intentioned but, seriously, they were a bit overboard.

I mean, what’s next – limits on the amount of mayonnaise you can buy, laws dictating portion sizes in restaurants, fines by the government for every lb overweight you are?

People don’t like to feel that the state is telling them what to do and this will be viewed as just another example of exactly that.

Taxing unhealthy food wouldn’t work, either. Remember the controversy about the ‘pasty tax’ in the UK? This week it also emerged that the Danish government is scrapping its tax on foods that are high in saturated fat after they discovered that people were travelling across the border to Germany in search of unhealthy foods for less.

So, with obesity admittedly a growing problem and more and more children growing up overweight, what is the answer?

Well, draconian rules and government guilt trips certainly aren’t the way forward. Instead, it is surely up to individuals to act responsibly and bring their children up in the same way.

I am not a parent but as an aunt of six I have experienced the stress of trying to get a five-year-old past the colourful displays of confectionery in a shop without giving in to their demands for one of everything.

Yes, it can be hard work, but you just have to deal with it and say no sometimes. Then sometimes a little treat isn’t a bad thing.

As a child I had friends who weren’t allowed sweets and chocolate. Others knew that, say, Friday night was treat night. But, as I see it, being denied things like confectionery in such a strict way more often than not leads to an unhealthy relationship with the very thing you are trying to stop them having. I’d bet those who are denied sweets and confectionery pig out the first chance they get. And when they are old enough to shop for themselves, who knows what is going to happen.

Many people praise the French for their approach to alcohol (allowing youngsters a small amount with dinner as they grow up, for example) and credit it with contributing to the fewer problems the country has with binge drinking compared to the UK.

A similar approach should be taken with confectionery and fatty foods in general. Everything in moderation, as the saying goes, is surely the best recipe for a healthy (in body and mind) and happy society.

After all, just as obesity is a growing problem, so too are eating disorders. From anorexia and bulimia at one end of the scale to yo-yo dieting and generations (both men and women, it should be pointed out) are growing up with unhealthy expectations and concerns about body image.

The world of celebrity has a lot to answer for on this front but so too does all the publicity that is afforded to issues such as those raised by Dr MacLachlan.

There will always be those who won’t help themselves and doctors have a part to play in helping to guide those people. Education is also important too.

But, a line has to be drawn. Willy Wonka – the king of all confectionery – had the right approach summed up rather eloquently by his weird and wonderful Oompa Loompas who famously sang ‘If you’re not greedy you will go far’.

Talking of well-known sayings, have you heard the one about doing something that scares you every day? It’s meant to be good for your mental health or combating fears or something.

Well, with a new visitor attraction due to open in Jersey this winter Islanders have a chance to not just scare but totally terrify themselves.

It’s called The Awakening and is basically a horror maze staffed by crazed soldiers and scientists (played by actors – local ones, it should be noted).

I’ve been to one of these before at Madame Tussauds in London. I had just spent a lovely two hours meeting Shrek, David Beckham and the Royals and was herded into this queue at the end of the tour. The young lad in front of me (he couldn’t have been more than ten) put me at ease – if he could do it I’d be fine.

Let’s just say it didn’t all go to that plan and I won’t be putting myself through that again.

That said, it’s good to see something different in Jersey and, judging by my experience, all those who attend should have an extremely healthy attitude to fear by the end of it. But, you have been warned.