EDITORIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST?

WE would imagine that one of the first pieces of advice dispensed at a Jenny Craig weight-loss consultation is: Avoid any product with the word ``Nestle'' in the title.

Um, better change that to ``Hershey,'' now that the Carlsbad, Calif.-based diet program has been purchased by Swiss foods giant Nestle.

Although Nestle makes all kinds of food products, including baby formula and PowerBars, what the company's best known for is its chocolate. You know, the rich, creamy, sweet and fatty kind -- stuff that could easily land you in a Jenny Craig center.

To the conspiracy-minded, this has all the trappings of a grand marketing scheme: Hook the customers with the sweets, then send them to Jenny when their pants no longer fit. It gives a whole new meaning to the term ``fat profits.''