Regular chocolate eaters are thinner: study

March 26, 2012 in Health

Regular chocolate eaters are thinner

Enlarge

This is Beatrice Golomb, M.D, Ph.D. (right). Credit: UC San Diego School of Medicine

Katherine Hepburn famously said of her slim physique: "What you see before you is the result of a lifetime of chocolate." New evidence suggests she may have been right.

Beatrice Golomb, MD, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, and colleagues present new findings that may overturn the major objection to regular : that it makes people fat. The study, showing that adults who eat chocolate on a regular basis are actually thinner that those who don't, will be published online in the on March 26.

The authors dared to hypothesize that modest, regular chocolate consumption might be calorie-neutral –in other words, that the metabolic benefits of eating modest amounts of chocolate might lead to reduced fat deposition per calorie and approximately offset the added (thus rendering frequent, though modest, chocolate consumption neutral with regard to weight). To assess this hypothesis, the researchers examined dietary and other information provided by approximately 1000 adult men and women from San Diego, for whom weight and height had been measured.

This video is not supported by your browser at this time.

The UC San Diego findings were even more favorable than the researchers conjectured. They found that who ate chocolate on more days a week were actually thinner – i.e. had a lower body mass index – than those who ate chocolate less often. The size of the effect was modest but the effect was "significant" –larger than could be explained by chance. This was despite the fact that those who ate chocolate more often did not eat fewer calories (they ate more), nor did they exercise more. Indeed, no differences in behaviors were identified that might explain the finding as a difference in calories taken in versus calories expended.

"Our findings appear to add to a body of information suggesting that the composition of calories, not just the number of them, matters for determining their ultimate impact on weight," said Golomb. "In the case of chocolate, this is good news –both for those who have a regular habit, and those who may wish to start one."

More information: Arch Intern Med. 2012;172[6]:519-521.

Provided by University of California - San Diego search and more info website

3.5 /5 (11 votes)  

Filter


Move the slider to adjust rank threshold, so that you can hide some of the comments.


Display comments: newest first

cmn
Mar 26, 2012

Rank: not rated yet
Couldn't it just be that these people have a high metabolism (genetically predisposed or otherwise) and can therefor afford to eat chocolate on a regular basis? I wonder what would happen if you started feeding chocolate to the heavier people that didn't eat it on regular basis? My bet is they wouldn't get thinner. :)
rynox
Mar 26, 2012

Rank: not rated yet
This is just what Daniel Kahneman is talking about... statistics beg for a causal explanation but do not lend themselves to such explanations.
Aliensarethere
Mar 27, 2012

Rank: not rated yet
The article lacks information about the amount of chocolate eaten, and what kind of chocolate.
Lurker2358
Mar 27, 2012

Rank: not rated yet
That would be the ultimate insult.

I quit eating any sort of chocolates or candies years ago in an attempt to keep my calories down, and now they say chocolate may actually help you lose weight....great.
Rank 3.5 /5 (11 votes)
Related Stories
Relevant PhysicsForums posts

More news stories

Seniors more likely to crash when driving with pet, study finds

(HealthDay)—Animals make great companions for senior citizens, but elderly people who always drive with a pet in the car are far more likely to crash than those who never drive with a pet, researchers have ...

Health created 2 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Driving and hands-free talking lead to spike in errors, study shows

Talking on a hands-free device while behind the wheel can lead to a sharp increase in errors that could imperil other drivers on the road, according to new research from the University of Alberta.

Health created May 24, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

About one in four uninsured could be excluded from ACA

(HealthDay)—More than one in four of those eligible for new premium assistance tax credits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) do not have a checking account and will not be able to receive premiums from ...

Health created May 24, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Audiologists recommend smart phone apps to monitor noise levels

After studying noise in one French Quarter neighborhood of New Orleans to determine whether or not noise levels exceeded municipal ordinances, Annette Hurley, PhD, Assistant Professor of Audiology at LSU Health Sciences Center ...

Health created May 24, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Young children who miss well-child visits are more likely to be hospitalized

Young children who missed more than half of recommended well-child visits had up to twice the risk of hospitalization compared to children who attended most of their visits, according to a study published today in the American Jo ...

Health created May 24, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


First drug to improve heart failure mortality in over a decade

Coenzyme Q10 decreases all cause mortality by half, according to the results of a multicentre randomised double blind trial presented today at Heart Failure 2013 congress. It is the first drug to improve heart failure mortality ...

Heart failure accelerates male 'menopause'

Heart failure accelerates the aging process and brings on early andropausal syndrome (AS), according to research presented today at the Heart Failure Congress 2013. AS, also referred to as male 'menopause', was four times ...

Death highest in heart failure patients admitted in January, on Friday, and overnight

Mortality and length of stay are highest in heart failure patients admitted in January, on Friday, and overnight, according to research presented today at the Heart Failure Congress 2013. The analysis of nearly 1 million ...

Feds fight morning-after pill age ruling in NY

(AP)—Department of Justice lawyers have again asked a federal appeals court in New York to delay lifting age restrictions and prescription requirements on an emergency contraceptive popularly known as the morning-after ...

New immune system discovered

(Medical Xpress)—A research team, led by Jeremy Barr, a biology post-doctoral fellow, unveils a new immune system that protects humans and animals from infection.

Brain can be trained in compassion, study shows

Until now, little was scientifically known about the human potential to cultivate compassion—the emotional state of caring for people who are suffering in a way that motivates altruistic behavior.