a teamor researchers from the University of Granada has scientifically dismantled the old belief that eating chocolate makes you fat. Read this.
And this, regardless of whether or not you practice physical activity and the diet you follow, among other factors, as reported by the University of Granada.
The work, carried out by researchers from the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Sports Sciences, has been published this week in the journal “Nutrition”.
The scientists analyzed whether a higher consumption of chocolate is associated with a higher or lower body mass index, as well as other indicators of total and central body fat in adolescents who participated in the «Helena» study, a project funded by the European Union on the eating habits and lifestyle of young people in nine European countries, including Spain.
The results of the study, in which 1,458 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 participated, showed that a higher consumption of chocolate was associated with lower levels of total and central fat.
These results were independent of gender, age, sexual maturity, total energy intake, saturated fat intake, fruit and vegetable intake, tea and coffee consumption, and physical activity of the participants.
According to the main author of the article, Magdalena Cuenca Garcia, Although chocolate is considered a food with a high energy intake (as it is rich in sugars and saturated fats), «recent studies in adults suggest that its consumption is associated with a lower risk of cardiometabolic disorders.»
In fact, chocolate is a food rich in flavonoids (especially catechins), which provide multiple healthy properties.
Specifically, it is a good antioxidant, antithrombotic and anti-inflammatory, has antihypertensive effects and can help prevent ischemic heart disease, according to the researchers.
Recently, another cross-sectional study carried out in adults by scientists from the University of California observed that a higher frequency of chocolate consumption is also associated with a lower body mass index.
related note: Do you want to gain weight without risking your health? Here.
Source: The Sideburn