More Frequently Eating Chocolate Related to Lower BMI

Consumption of certain types of chocolate has been linked to some favorable metabolic associations with blood pressure, insulin sensitivity and cholesterol level. Beatrice A. Golomb, M.D., Ph.D., with the University of California, studied 1,018 men and woman without known cardiovascular disease, diabetes or extremes of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels who were screened for participation in a clinical study examining noncardiac effects of statins. To measure chocolate consumption, 1,017 of the participants answered a question about how many times per week they ate chocolate. BMI was calculated for 972 of them. Of the participants, 975 completed a food frequency questionnaire. “Adults who consumed chocolate more frequently had a lower BMI than those who consumed chocolate less often,” the authors note. Participants had a mean (average) age of 57 years, and the mean BMI was 28. They ate chocolate a mean (average) of two times a week and exercised 3.6 times a week. Arch Intern Med. 2012;172[6]:519-521.