ArticlePloS one2013
Habitual chocolate consumption may increase body weight in a dose-response manner.
Article in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Chocolate and risk of chronic disease: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis.European journal of nutrition · 2020Pooled it
- Habitual chocolate consumption and the risk of incident heart failure among healthy men and women.Nutrition, metabolism, and cardiovascular diseases : NMCD · 2016Pooled it
- Habitual chocolate consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease among healthy men and women.Heart (British Cardiac Society) · 2015Pooled it
- Antiobesity Potential of Selected Latin American Edible Plants: A Review.Plant foods for human nutrition (Dordrecht, Netherlands) · 2026Review
- Chocolate intake and risk of type 2 diabetes: prospective cohort studies.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2024Article
- Chocolate consumption and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the Korean adult population: an analysis based on the 2014-2016 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.Nutrition research and practice · 2021Article
- Postprandial Glucose, Insulin, and Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Responses in Healthy Adults after Consumption of Chocolate-Products.Preventive nutrition and food science · 2020Article
- Article
- Chocolate, "Food of the Gods": History, Science, and Human Health.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Review
- Relationship between Cocoa Intake and Healthy Status: A Pilot Study in University Students.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2019Article
- Vascular and cognitive effects of cocoa-rich chocolate in postmenopausal women: a study protocol for a randomised clinical trial.BMJ open · 2018Article
- Habit strength and between-meal snacking in daily life: the moderating role of level of education.Public health nutrition · 2018Article
- Chocolate intake and heart disease and stroke in the Women's Health Initiative: a prospective analysis.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2018Article
- Effects of Cocoa Antioxidants in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2017Review
- Chocolate-candy consumption and 3-year weight gain among postmenopausal U.S. women.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2015Article
- Changes in body weight, blood pressure and selected metabolic biomarkers with an energy-restricted diet including twice daily sweet snacks and once daily sugar-free beverage.Nutrition research and practice · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveHabitual chocolate intake was recently found to be associated with lower body weight in three cross-sectional epidemiological studies. Our objective was to assess whether these cross-sectional results hold up in a more rigorous prospective analysis.
methodsWe used data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities cohort. Usual dietary intake was assessed by questionnaire at baseline (1987-98), and after six years. Participants reported usual chocolate intake as the frequency of eating a 1-oz (~28 g) serving. Body weight and height were measured at the two visits. Missing data were replaced by multiple imputation. Linear mixed-effects models were used to evaluate cross-sectional and prospective associations between chocolate intake and adiposity.
resultsData were from 15,732 and 12,830 participants at the first and second visit, respectively. More frequent chocolate consumption was associated with a significantly greater prospective weight gain over time, in a dose-response manner. For instance, compared to participants who ate a chocolate serving less often than monthly, those who ate it 1-4 times a month and at least weekly experienced an increase in Body Mass Index (kg/m2) of 0.26 (95% CI 0.08, 0.44) and 0.39 (0.23, 0.55), respectively, during the six-year study period. In cross-sectional analyses the frequency of chocolate consumption was inversely associated with body weight. This inverse association was attenuated after excluding participants with preexisting obesity-related illness. Compared to participants without such illness, those with it had higher BMI and reported less frequent chocolate intake, lower caloric intake, and diets richer in fruits and vegetables. They tended to make these dietary changes after becoming ill.
conclusionsOur prospective analysis found that a chocolate habit was associated with long-term weight gain, in a dose-response manner. Our cross-sectional finding that chocolate intake was associated with lower body weight did not apply to participants without preexisting serious illness.
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