A few days ago, a friend tried to convince us that chocolate mousse was basically yogurt. According to new studies, however, we could have indulged without the guilt. New data from Roy Morgan Research shows there’s no immediately obvious connection between a person’s Body Mass Index and whether or not they eat chocolate. Another study from German researchers found that eating a daily serving of chocolate didn’t stop those studied from staying trim. Researchers looked at three groups: One on a low-carb diet, one on a low-carb diet with an added 42 grams of chocolate each day, and one with an unrestricted diet. Those who ate the chocolate didn’t gain weight and claimed to be in a better mood than those in the chocolate-free group.
Sounds amazing, right? Not so fast. Just a few days ago, we shed the spotlight on how deceiving medical studies can be and despite the recent press this research has gotten, you might want to think twice about falling face-first into a pile of Cadbury Creme Eggs.
Note that 42 grams of chocolate is no more than a small bar (any chocolate addict will admit to easily eating double that amount) and the chocolate used in the studies contained at least 81 percent cocoa. Conventional health rules say that to gain a pound you have to eat about 3,500 more calories per week (or about 500 more a day). The chocolate given as part of the study is hardly close to 500 calories — a handful of Cadbury Creme Eggs, now that’s another story.
There’s nothing wrong with treating yourself to chocolate, but believing the flashy headlines that you can now eat it ad nauseam is misleading. Everything in moderation, right?
[h/t Daily Mail]
