Confessions of a Nearly 40-year-old Sugar Baby

My favorite part of Saturday afternoon grocery shopping is the checkout line. But not because I'm leaving behind the cacophony of wailing children, frustrated parents, squeaky cart wheels, and endless loud speaker announcements. No, I love the checkout line because it is lined with gloriously arrayed candy. It's sugar, baby! A wondrous assortment of Milk Way, Hershey, and Nestle Crunch bars neatly nestled beside Dove Milk Chocolate, Godiva Milk Chocolate with Caramel, and Lifesavers. And lets not forget the inspiration for this article. A blast from my past that has recently fought its way back to the checkout line bonanza- Sugar Babies.

Yes, I am a Sugar Baby. Don't get me wrong. I like cookies, cakes, pies and ice cream too. But it's always been candy that really get my juices flowing. Chocolate, fudge and caramel to be specific. Hard candies will do in a pinch.

Sometimes, when I'm not careful, a new cashier will put the candy in with the rest of the groceries before I can stop them. It doesn't happen often. Most of them know better and hand it to me after scanning it. I tuck it in my purse with the faint hope that maybe it will survive the trip home. The first light out of the parking lot is about as far as I get before I succumb to temptation.

I'm not alone. The United States is full of other Sugar Babes drooling their way through the checkout line. According to the 2005 data of the National Confectioners Association's, retail chocolate candy sales grew to $15.8 billion with another $8.9 billion in non-chocolate candy sales.

But this is a new year and it's time for a change. According to the American Diabetes Association 20.8 million adults and children have diabetes in the United States. That's 7% of the population. More than of a third of these people don't know they have it.