Too sweet to handle: Yogi's statement on sugar is wrong at many levels

UP CM Adityanath exhorted farmers to grow less sugarcane as too much sugar caused diabetes; he should realise his state's farmers produce too much sugar because his govt is incentivising them to do so

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has a history of making puzzling statements. But even by those standards, his recent remarks on sugar production in UP stand out. Mr Adityanath exhorted farmers in his state to grow less sugarcane since too much sugar caused diabetes. This has confounded onlookers. First of all, any form of simple carbohydrates can stress the body’s insulin sensitivity and lead to diabetes. Sugar alone is not the culprit. And second, production and consumption are two different sectors and should be thought about separately. More to the point, however, Mr Adityanath’s statement betrays a lack of