Should sugar be regulated like alcohol? Thats the premise of a new position paper, published today in the journal Nature by three leading obesity researchers from the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine.

They argue that added sugar in all forms — sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup alike — is as perilous to public health as a controlled substance like alcohol. Bolstering their argument with statistics on obesity and other chronic disease, as well as evidence that our bodies process sugar in a way that is harmful to our health, they advocate for regulation to temper sugar consumption worldwide.

Toxic Sugar: Should We Regulate It Like Alcohol?

First lady Michelle Obama cajoled Jay Leno into nibbling on apples, sweet potato fries and a pizza made with eggplant, green peppers and zucchini on the “Tonight Show,” breaking his long-held aversion for all-things-healthy in his diet.

Leno once told a magazine he hadnt eaten a vegetable since 1969, and he insisted he tasted his last apple in 1984. That didnt dissuade the first lady, whos promoting her “Lets Move!” campaign to get kids excited about fitness and healthy eating habits.

Earlier, Obama poked at him in a Twitter post, hinting shed “get Jay to eat some veggies” on the NBC show.

He did.

“That does smell very good. I assume this is sausage-pepperoni,” the comedian quipped as he eyed the pizza made with a whole-wheat crust.

She convinced Leno to dip an apple in honey made from beehives in the White House garden: “It will help it go down easier,” she assured him.

“White House honey? That sounds bad,” Leno told her. “You know, with a different president that could mean a whole different thing, `a little White House honey.”

First lady pushes Jay Leno to eat healthy foods