Nutritional Advice El Mondo
Objectives:
Cocoa and dark chocolate (DC) have been reported to be effective for health promotion; however the exact effect of cocoa/dark chocolate on anthropometric measures have not been yet defined. Therefore, this review article has been conducted.
Has cocoa/dark chocolate supplementation positive effect on weight, BMI and waist circumference (WC)?
Study design:
This review article included a total of 35 RCTs, investigating the effects of cocoa/dark chocolate on weight, BMI and waist circumference.
Results and conclusions:
The investigators found meta-analysis did not suggest any significant effect of cocoa/dark chocolate supplementation on:
-body weight [-0.108 kg, 95% CI = -0.262 to 0.046 p = 0.168]
-BMI [-0.014 kg/m2, 95% CI = -0.105 to 0.077, p = 0.759] and
-WC [0.025 cm, 95% CI = -0.083 to 0.129, p = 0.640].
The investigators found, however, subgroup analysis revealed that weight and BMI were significantly reduced with ≥ 30g chocolate per day during 4-8 weeks.
Furthermore, supplementation of ≥ 30g chocolate per day during 4-8 weeks significantly reduced waist circumference in non-linear fashion [r = 0.042, p-nonlinearity = 0.008].
The investigators concluded that ≥ 30g chocolate per day during 4-8 weeks reduce weight, BMI and waist circumference.
Original title:
Does cocoa/dark chocolate supplementation have favorable effect on body weight, body mass index and waist circumference? A systematic review, meta-analysis and dose-response of randomized clinical trials by Kord-Varkaneh H, Ghaedi E, […], Shab-Bidar S.
Link:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29553824
Additional information of El Mondo:
Find more information/studies on meta-analysis, chocolate consumption and overweight right here.