Chocolate lovers are 3 kilos slimmer: study

March 27th, 2012

Chocolate lovers rejoice: new research suggests that people who eat the treat a few times a week (or more!) weigh less than those who don’t indulge as often.

Losing weight isn’t as easy as trotting off to the dairy for a block of Cadbury’s, but new research from the University of San Diego has found that those who eat small ammounts of chocolate regularly experience health benefits across their Body Mass Index, cholesterol and blood pressure.

Sugar and fat aside, chocolate is rich in antioxidants that may create the positive relationship to insulin sensitivity and blood pressure, says the report.

“However, because chocolate is often consumed as a sweet and bears calories, there are concerns related to its intake,” it says.

Over 1,000 healthy men and women aged 20 to 85 years were measured on their eating habits, including how often they ate the sweet treat.

Those that ate chocolate a couple of times a week were considered overweight, but not obese, with a BMI of 28. Those that ate chocolate more than twice a week also consumed more calories overall including more saturated fat, but had a lower body weight, according to a Reuters report.

So long as we're eating so-called 'naughty treats'....what about chocolate covered bacon!!

The pattern held true regardless of age, gender of exercise levels.

According to the researchers the difference in weight between people who ate five servings of chocolate a week compared to those who didn’t eat any was between 2.3 kilograms to 3.2 kilograms.

Only the frequency of chocolate eating was measured and linked to weight, not the amount.

The researchers claim that there is only one chance in a hundred that their findings could be explained by chance alone, said the BBC.

The health benefits of chocolate have also been measured by German researchers who found that chocolate was good for the heart.

“The good news is that chocolate is not as bad as we used to think, and may even lower the risk of heart disease and stroke,” lead researcher Brian Buijsse said.

The study showed that the risk of hear attack was reduced by 27 per cent and the risk of suffering stroke by 48 per cent.

“Eating higher amounts will most likely result in weight gain. If people start eating small amounts of chocolate, it should replace something else, preferably other high-calorie sweets or snacks.

“Dark chocolate exhibits the greatest effects, milk chocolate fewer, and white chocolate no effects.”

Keri Algar

Having once had to sit on the washing machine to stop it from bouncing into oblivion, Keri is today delighted with the new (smoother running) technologies that make housework easier every day. A self-confessed lazy-bones, Keri seeks out quirky inventions that ease the human workload, such as the robotic vacuum cleaner (wow). And as soon as someone figures out a Jetsons-like self-cleaning house, she will happily lay her pen to rest and retire from appliance journalism. Until then, her pick is a fridge that will tell her smartphone when it's time to pick up more beer on the way home. Magic.