Chocolate Consumption Linked To Lower Body Fat Levels

GRANADA, SpainHigher chocolate consumption has been associated with lower levels of total fatfat deposits all over the bodyand abdominal fat, independent of physical activity levels and diet, according to a new study published in the journal Nutrition.  

University of Granada researchers studied the eating habits and lifestyles of 1,458 European adolescents ages 12 to 17 years to determine whether greater chocolate consumption was associated with higher body mass index (BMI) and other indicators of total and central body fat.

Results showed that a higher level of chocolate consumption was linked to lower levels of total and central fat when these were estimated through BMI, body fat percentagemeasured by both skinfolds and bioelectrical impedance analysisand waist circumference. The results were independent of the participant's sex, age, sexual maturation, total energy intake, intake of saturated fats, fruit and vegetables, consumption of tea and coffee and physical activity.

The effect could be partly due to the influence of catechins on cortisol production and on insulin sensitivity, both of which are related to overweight and obesity.

Although chocolate is considered a high energy-content foodrich in sugars and saturated fatsrecent studies in adults suggest chocolate consumption is associated with a lower risk of cardiometabolic disorders," said Magdalena Cuenca-García, lead author of the study.

In fact, chocolate is rich in flavonoidsespecially catechinswhich have many healthy properties, including "antioxidant, antithrombotic, anti-inflammatory and antihypertensive effects and can help prevent ischemic heart disease," Cuenca-García said.