People should have the option to decide whether they are going to eat king-size candy bars. If an individual wants to fight against the obesity epidemic, he or she can just not purchase a king-size candy bar. However, if students want to eat a king-size Snickers bar after hours of studying for midterms, they should be able to do so.

According to a Business Insider article, the candy company Mars made a deal with first lady Michelle Obama’s Partnership for a Healthier America to stop selling chocolate bars with more than 250 calories by the end of 2013.

This didn’t sound so bad at first. I mean, how much is 250 calories anyway?

The standard size of a Snickers bar — the one by the grocery checkout line that looks like the “healthy” size — is 280 calories. The 3 Musketeers bar in that same standard size is 260 calories. These are not even king-sized candy products, but under the new agreement even they will need to get trimmed down.

What does that mean for the everyday college student? Everyone will spend more money for less wonderfulness.

The obesity epidemic is a crisis, but this calorie-cutting decision seems like a drastic overcompensation that punishes more people than it helps.

Today Health reports that chocolate helps people relax because it “contains the compound anandamide that activates the same brain receptors as marijuana.” When college students are stressed and need something to calm them down, limiting the amount they can consume of something legal and FDA-approved seems like a pretty risky move.

There are many foods that contribute to obesity, and cracking down so hard on candy bars feels like taking away the prize at the end of the finish line. Losing weight is fantastic, but now there is a key element missing from the congratulatory celebration.

All candy bars need to stay their current size because there is only so far the government should go. After a certain point, the decisions go from the hands of the politicians to the actual people. People deserve to be able to make their own decisions without interference by the government.

In the end, eating an exorbitant amount of chocolate is not the healthy option. But it is a choice that makes a person happy for those few minutes. It allows them to momentarily forget the nights ahead of piles of homework. Eating that king-sized piece of joy isn’t anyone’s business but their own, and an individual should get to choose whether he or she wants that experience.

— Megan Hurley is a journalism junior. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu or on Twitter via @WildcatOpinions .