Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to investigate the association between consumption
of chocolate and measures of adiposity in a large, representative sample of US adults.
Methods
Cross-sectional data from 13,626 nondiabetic adults (≥20 years) participating in the
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey study were aggregated using 5 study
cycles from 2005-2006 through 2013-2014. Chocolate consumption was determined based
on 2 24-hour dietary recalls. Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference were objectively
measured. We used multivariable linear regression to test associations of 1) any chocolate
consumption (yes/no), and 2) the total amount of chocolate consumption (grams/day,
in quartiles) with BMI and waist circumference. Models controlled for sociodemographic,
lifestyle, health-related, and dietary covariates.
Results
Overall, 11.1% of the population self-reported any chocolate consumption in either
of their 2 24-hour dietary recalls. Adjusted linear regression models showed that
individuals who reported any chocolate consumption had 0.92 kg/m2 (95% confidence interval, 0.53-1.32) lower BMI, and 2.07 cm (95% confidence intervals,
1.22-2.92) lower waist circumference than those who reported no chocolate consumption.
In models examining the association of amount of chocolate consumption and weight
status, compared with those who did not consume chocolate, lower BMI (P for trend = .003) and waist circumference (P for trend = .001) were observed in the first, second, and third quartiles of total
chocolate consumption.
Conclusions
In this representative sample of US adults, chocolate consumption was associated with
lower markers of adiposity. Further research using a longitudinal or experimental
design is needed to establish the direction of causation.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to The American Journal of MedicineAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
Statista. Consumption of chocolate worldwide from 2012/13-2018/19. 2019. Available at:https://www.statista.com/statistics/238849/global-chocolate-consumption/. Accessed January 11, 2020.
Statista. Statistics & facts on chocolate consumption and industry. Available at:https://www.statista.com/topics/1638/chocolate-industry/. Accessed January 11, 2020.
- Is chocolate consumption associated with health outcomes? An umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.Clin Nutr. 2019; 38: 1101-1108
- Cocoa and cardiovascular health.Circulation. 2009; 119: 1433-1441
- Chocolate–guilty pleasure or healthy supplement?.J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2014; 16: 101-106
- Higher dietary flavonoid intakes are associated with lower objectively measured body composition in women: evidence from discordant monozygotic twins12.Am J Clin Nutr. 2017; 105: 626-634
- Confectionery consumption and overweight, obesity, and related outcomes in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Am J Clin Nutr. 2016; 103: 1344-1356
- Habitual chocolate consumption may increase body weight in a dose-response manner.PLoS One. 2013; 8: e70271
- The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey: sample design, 1999-2006.Vital Health Stat 2. 2012; : 1-39
- National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey: sample design, 2007-2010.Vital Health Stat 2. 2013; : 1-23
- Update on NHANES dietary data: focus on collection, release, analytical considerations, and uses to inform public policy.Adv Nutr. 2016; 7: 121-134
- Assessing adiposity.Circulation. 2011; 124: 1996-2019
- Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.2nd ed. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC2018
- Prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and obesity-related health risk factors, 2001.JAMA. 2003; 289: 76-79
- Comparison of overweight and obesity prevalence in school-aged youth from 34 countries and their relationships with physical activity and dietary patterns.Obes Rev. 2005; 6: 123-132
- Consumption of sugars and the regulation of short-term satiety and food intake.Am J Clin Nutr. 2003; 78: 843S-849S
Article Info
Publication History
Published online: February 15, 2020
Footnotes
Funding: None.
Conflict of Interest: All authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Authorship: LS and LY conceived the idea, XZ analyzed the data, LS interpreted the results, and LS and LY drafted the manuscript; all authors critically revised the manuscript, all authors approved the final version of the manuscript before submission.
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
