Regular Eaters of Chocolate are Thinner

EvgeniZyntx

Was just reading the article in Bicycling on this...

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 chocolate consumption: 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 Archives of Internal Medicine 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 calories (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.

http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/pressreleases/regular_chocolate_eaters_are_thinner

study:
http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1108800

Eat your chocolate! And ice cream!

neanderthin

My grandfather credited beer for his health and longevity, true story.

Chief_Rocka

Scientists also speculate that no single food item contributes to fat gain, more at 11.

Alex_is_Hawks

sure....regular eaters because they don't deny and then binge....

but still there's a difference between a regular eater that has a square or two every day...


and a regular eater that has four bars a day (on top of their daily allotted calories)

so yeah

FeebRyan

my issue is with the 'moderate' bit

i just find it so hard to eat it moderately, if i get choccy, i want more and more and more of it.

Ge0rgiana

*looks down*

Oh, that's a load of crap!

Rokwell

So are crack heads. that doesn't mean you should do it

rml_16

I eat chocolate very day. It isn't helping.

Well, it may be, but so far it's being counteracted by something.

Dave198lbs

caloric surplus? gain weight

caloric deficit? lose weight

caloric balance? maintain weight

effect of chocolate? plug into one of the above

mariposa224

sure....regular eaters because they don't deny and then binge....

but still there's a difference between a regular eater that has a square or two every day...


and a regular eater that has four bars a day (on top of their daily allotted calories)

so yeah

^^^This! I enjoy a square or two of Ghiradelli or Godiva generally at least once a week, sometimes several days in a week, depending on how I'm feeling. But, again, it's the moderation that makes a difference, IMO. If you can't practice self-control, then it's probably better to just avoid chocolate if it's a trigger food. I'm all about being moderate and having the things I enjoy. I'm in this for the long haul.

firstsip

I have an uncle who turns 102 this week! if you ask him, he thinks his longevity comes from moonshine and bacon.

my hubby's grandpa, who lived to be over 100 as well, ate bacon 2x a day for as long as my hubby knew him. AND he did the coffee thing where you brew it with the egg in it most days too

I'm going for the bacon, egg, coffee & moonshine diet!

Brewing coffee with an egg?! I've never heard of this PLEASE ELABORATE.

k8blujay2

I know when I make room for 3 squares of dark chocolate (which is 3/5 of a serving according to the package) every day, I don't crave other sweets. So for me it's not just simply an abstain and then binge type of thing... it really does help me stave off other sweet cravings.

footiechick82

All about moderation and what kind of chocolate you're eating. Having that crap waxie stuff is awful... I'm a 70% + cocoa girl unless I'm craving a chocolate bar.

Check outmy food log and you'll see chocolate at least 3 times a week!

Lyssa62

1 a night keeps the cravings at bay

k8blujay2

my issue is with the 'moderate' bit

i just find it so hard to eat it moderately, if i get choccy, i want more and more and more of it.

What I do is keep the bag at home and then only bring with me my moderate amount to work. Then I cannot get any more and by the time my brain as recieved that I have had chocolate, I don't crave it when I go home and eat the rest.

IronDame

1 a night keeps the cravings at bay

That looks so fcking disgusting!

Give me a real piece of dark chocolate. Kthnx.

EvgeniZyntx

Obviously no single food is responsible of weight gain or weight loss and I posted this sort of tongue in cheek to see what we would get -- no one is recommending it as a "weight gain solution".

What is interesting is the positive effects of cacao - because I love it, and eat it - daily and mostly to moderation. It has not hindered me in any way.

And by the way, what was found was that those that eat chocolate had a lower BMI. Not that chocolate actually reduces weight. Adding chocolate to a calorie surplus is not in any way recommended - don't abuse it or gummi bears.

As the authors write....

Chocolate products are often rich in sugar and fat, contributing to assumptions that chocolate boosts BMI. This study does not obviate the possibility that some chocolate-containing products do so, that some chocolate consumption profiles do so, or that for some people, even frequent modest chocolate consumption does so. Moreover, since findings are cross-sectional, causality in the observed association cannot be presumed. However, the finding fits with the literature suggesting benefits of chocolate for other metabolic factors, and we failed to identify a link of chocolate to key BMI-relevant confounders in a direction to explain the finding. Moreover, our findings comport with recent findings from experimental frequent feeding of modest doses of epicatechin from chocolate to rats.8- 9 Polyphenols (eg, catechins) in chocolate1 have antioxidant properties and are candidates to underlie favorable chocolate associations with metabolic factors. Cocoa-derived epicatechin, specifically, is reported to increase mitochondrial biogenesis and capillarity, muscular performance, and lean muscle mass and to reduce weight without changing calories or exercise in rodent studies.8- 9 Parallel processes in humans, if present, could underlie our findings.

.In conclusion, our findings—that more frequent chocolate intake is linked to lower BMI—are intriguing. They accord with other findings suggesting that diet composition, as well as calorie number, may influence BMI. They comport with reported benefits of chocolate to other elements of MetS. Compatible experimental findings in rats given epicatechin from cocoa suggest the association could be causal. A randomized trial of chocolate for metabolic benefits in humans may be merited.

ironanimal

I am proof this study is flawed.

BCSMama

I love really dark chocolate and eat a square or two a couple nights a week. I work it into my calories though and have no delusions that it is either contributing to or hindering my fitness goals.