Chocolate lovers are thinner, study says

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

photo The higher the percentage of cacao, the healthier the dark chocolate is.

Sweet news about those chocolate cravings: People who consume moderate amounts of chocolate more frequently are thinner than those who eat it less often, according to a new study.

The research involved 1,018 healthy men and women who exercised on average 3.6 times a week and had a balanced, nutritious diet. The body mass index - a measure of body fat based on height and weight - of participants who ate chocolate five times a week was one point lower than people who did not eat it regularly.

"Our findings show the composition of calories, not just the number of them, matters for determining ultimate weight," says lead author Beatrice Golomb, associate professor of medicine at the University of California-San Diego.

Read more at the Tennessean.