Elsevier

Nutrition

Volume 30, Issue 2, February 2014, Pages 236-239
Nutrition

Special article
Association between chocolate consumption and fatness in European adolescents

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2013.07.011Get rights and content

Abstract

Objective

There is a substantial interest in the potential role of chocolate in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. It has been recently reported that a higher frequency of chocolate intake is linked to lower body mass index (BMI) in adults. The aim of the present study was to determine if higher chocolate consumption also is associated with lower BMI, as well as other markers of total and central body fat, in adolescents.

Methods

This study comprised 1458 adolescents (ages 12.5–17.5 y) participating in HELENA-CSS (Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence Cross-Sectional Study). Dietary intake was self-registered using a computer-based tool for 24-h dietary recall on 2 non-consecutive days. Weight and height were measured, and BMI was calculated. Adiposity was estimated using skinfolds (Slaughter’s equation) and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Waist circumference was measured. Sexual maturation also was recorded. Physical activity was measured by accelerometry.

Results

Higher chocolate consumption was associated with lower levels of total and central fatness, as estimated by BMI, body fat estimated from skinfolds and BIA, and waist circumference, regardless of potential confounders (P ≤ 0.01).

Conclusion

Our results demonstrate that a higher chocolate consumption was associated with lower total and central fatness in European adolescents.

Introduction

Chocolate consumption traditionally has been linked with sweets, having an abundance of calories in the absence of significant nutrients, and is therefore considered an unhealthy food. However, recent reports suggest that chocolate consumption in adults is associated with lower risk of cardiometabolic disorders [1]. Chocolate is rich in flavonoids [2]. The flavonoids from chocolate, especially catechins, may promote health due to their antioxidant, antihypertensive, anti-atherogenic, antithrombotic and anti-inflammatory effects, as well as their influence on insulin sensitivity, vascular endothelial function, and activation of nitric oxide [3]. A longitudinal study concluded that dietary intake of catechins (predominant in chocolate, fruit, vegetables, and tea) is inversely associated with body mass index (BMI) in adult women followed over 14 y, which suggests that flavonoid intake might have a beneficial long-term effect on weight maintenance [4]. This effect could be in part due to its influence on insulin sensitivity [5] as well as on cortisol production [6]. A recent study reported that a higher frequency of chocolate intake is linked to lower BMI in adults [7]. The biological effect of foods on body fat and body composition cannot be properly assessed only in terms of calories. Many other components of the diet are biologically active, and there is place for epidemiologic and clinical investigation of the effects of particular foods (not only their caloric content or some of their components) on risk factors for chronic diseases, including overweight or obesity.

We hypothesized that chocolate consumption also could be associated with lower BMI, as well as other markers of total and central body fat, in adolescents. We tested this hypothesis in adolescents from 9 European countries participating in HELENA-CSS (Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence Cross-Sectional Study).

Section snippets

Study design and participants

The HELENA-CSS is a multicenter study aiming to obtain reliable and comparable data on nutrition and health-related parameters in a sample of 3528 boys and girls aged 12.5 to 17.5 y between 2006 and 2007 in 10 European cities from 9 different countries [8]. The adolescents were sampled from classes in the school setting, and a random cluster sampling among all classes from all schools in the 10 cities was carried out. All participants meet with general HELENA-CSS inclusion criteria (not

Results

Adolescents in the higher tertile of chocolate consumption (median, 42.6 g/d) had lower marker levels of fatness, were more physically active, had higher energy, and saturated fat intake compared with those in the lower tertile (median, 4.7 g/d; P < 0.05). Higher chocolate consumption was associated with lower levels of total and central fatness, as estimated by BMI (β:-0.004, P:0.003), body fat estimated from skinfolds (β:-0.008, P:0.011) and BIA (β:-0.011; P:0.012), and waist circumference

Discussion

Identification of lifestyle factors related to preventing weight and fat gain over the first decades of life is important from a clinical point of view. In the present study, we showed that higher chocolate consumption was associated with lower total and central body fat in European adolescents, which concurs with the findings showed in a study in adults [7]. The fact that the results were consistent when using different markers of fatness such as BMI, body fat assessed by skinfold thickness,

Conclusion

The results of the present study showed that a higher chocolate consumption was associated with lower levels of central and total fatness in European adolescents, regardless of a set of relevant confounders.

Acknowledgments

The HELENA study took place with the financial support of the European Community Sixth RTD Framework Programme (Contract FOOD-CT: 2005-007034). This study was also supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (AP 2008-03806: RYC-2010-05957; RYC-2011-0901). The content of this article reflects only the authors’ views, and the European Community is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. No potential conflicts of interest relevant

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    MCG designed and conducted research, performed statistical analysis, and wrote the paper. FBO, JRR, and MJC contributed to the interpretation of the results and editing of the manuscript. MCG, JRR, FBO, and MJC were involved in the design of the HELENA study and locally coordinated the project. MCG had primary responsibility for final content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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