I agree 100%.
I truly believe sugar is the main reason most people are overweight or obese.
I used to think it was our high fat diet, but I now believe it is refined carbs.
Almost all cheap convenience foods are pure sugar, which is a large part of most American's diets.
I dunno, I used to think that sugar was really bad, but ultimately I think what it boils down to is two things:
1. A lack of education
2. A lack of personal responsibility
Most people simply don't know that eating too many calories makes you fat, regardless of the source of those calories. Sugar, carbs, and fat don't automatically make you fat; eating late at night or skipping breakfast doesn't make you fat. However, sugar & junk food
do make it more convenient to eat a lot of calories in one sitting (and then get hungry again sooner & repeat the cycle) - which isn't to say you can't have those things & still be in-shape, just that if you're living on the standard American diet, it's more of a trap than most people realize. But if you don't know that food controls weight, and subsequently if you're not being responsible for what you eat in some way (by eating clean, by tracking your calories, etc.), then it's really hard to make progress because you'll have to kill yourself at the gym or starve yourself to get results, both of which aren't very sustainable. And the good news is, you don't have to eat plain chicken & broccoli all the time get results...I eat a looooooooot of junk food, but I manage my macros every day so things work out properly. So I'm back to eating the same junk food I was before when I was fat, but I'm also not over-eating on my calories & I'm hitting my macros for protein, carb, and fat grams every day, which is still a LOT of food to eat every day.
When I was overweight, I always thought that exercise = fat loss. I don't like exercise, so I never really pursued it; I could chalk that up to lack of responsibility, but at the time, exercising didn't feel great & seemed unsustainable to me. The bigger problem was that I had zero clue that food controlled bodyfat. It took me a loooooooong time to come to that conclusion. That's why I really like IIFYM...you still get to enjoy food, but in a more controlled way so that you can achieve specific results. And once I learned that food controlled bodyfat, I thought that eating clean was the only way to go. And it did work for me (I lost a good 50 pounds) because it's kind of hard to over-eat plain chicken & broccoli But then I learned about the macro-based style of eating & that really opened up a lot of doors to eating what I wanted to every day rather than just on cheat days or for cheat meals. Now I can both enjoy food & get results, simply by figuring out my menu & numbers for the day.
So anyway, I think that's what the real story is - sugar isn't to blame for people's waistlines, it's a lack of education & the subsequent choice to not take personal responsibility for your health. Lack of a proper education regarding food & how it affects your body is a REALLY big deal though...there's an enormous amount of confusing information out there from broscience, product marketing, and so on that it makes it really hard to figure out what works & what doesn't, as well as what is sustainable for you personally & what works for your specific body. For fatloss exclusively, it really does just boil down to calories in vs. calories out. If you want to be fit, you need to add in macro tracking, if you're doing the calorie-counting thing. If you want to be healthy, then you'll also benefit from the micronutrients & phytochemicals from whole foods. I know people who don't count & eat paleo and are pretty healthy. I know people who live off protein shakes & protein bars and are pretty healthy. I know people who eat ice cream every day, but also track their macros and are pretty healthy. I also know people who simply watch how much they eat & don't track anything and do just fine. So while there's not just one way to getting in shape, I think there's more to it than just pointing the finger at sugar & carbs, because you can include those as part of a fit lifestyle...it's more about getting educated & then deciding to stick with a plan to get you where you want to be.