{"id":1920,"date":"2014-11-05T18:39:00","date_gmt":"2014-11-05T23:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.willclower.com\/blog\/2014\/11\/does-eating-chocolate-lead-to-greater-weight-not-according-to-17-countries-see-the-data.html"},"modified":"2016-09-19T11:19:49","modified_gmt":"2016-09-19T15:19:49","slug":"does-eating-chocolate-lead-to-greater-weight-not-according-to-17-countries-see-the-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=1920","title":{"rendered":"Does Eating Chocolate Lead To Greater Weight? Not according to 17 countries (see the data)"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/div>\n
Conventional wisdom tells us that chocolate can be a problem for our weight and health. And it doesn\u2019t really matter whether it\u2019s dark chocolate or milk chocolate. <\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n
While darker varieties have more cocoa butter (and so is higher in fat content) the milkier kinds have more sugar. In either case, we are normally coached to avoid this food in order to manage our weight.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
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Follow @willclower<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/div>\n
So let\u2019s test this <\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
We can see how this common notion holds up by doing a simple \u201cif-then\u201d experiment. IF chocolate is fattening, THEN those people who ate more of it would weigh more. That\u2019s just common sense. However, if they don\u2019t, then it isn\u2019t.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The key to answering this IF-THEN question is in the design of the study. You can\u2019t just look at a single person who eats chocolate and see whether that person tends to gain or lose weight. That\u2019s because any given person may also be more or less sedentary, more or less likely to overeat, or with a greater or lesser tendency to be overweight in the first place. So, person by person, the effect chocolate has on your weight could be masked by other lifestyle behaviors. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The way out of this little mental muddle is to do a study with enough people in it that those tendencies average out. And an even better way is to test those large populations, and then compare them with other large populations. How large? Let\u2019s say millions of people in each population!  <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
While everyone would sign up to be a little white lab mouse in that study (chocolate instead of cheese at the end of the maze), no one would fund it because you\u2019d need to pay millions of people to eat pounds and pounds of chocolate year after year. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
Fortunately, we don\u2019t have to wait on a research lab to find the money to fund this study. The average per person consumption of chocolate in 16 countries has been assessed already. Even better, the obesity rates in those countries are published as well. I just pulled in all the data, and plotted them against each other. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n
See the data table to find out YOUR country’s obesity rate, and just how much chocolate they’re eating per person per year.<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The counter-intuitive result<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
If greater chocolate eating leads to greater weight, then you would expect this plot to slant upward \u2013 as chocolate consumption increases, so would obesity. But take a look at this chart, because that\u2019s not what happens. The graph indicates a downward trend: greater chocolate consumption is correlated with a trend to lower weight. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
It’s research. There are caveats.<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
Of course there are caveats to this result, as this analysis doesn\u2019t prove that chocolate causes weight loss, it only indicates a tendency. However, maybe<\/u><\/i> there\u2019s some other reason that explains why millions of people (in 16 different countries) who tend to eat more chocolate also tend to weigh less. However, it does agree with other published data showing that consistent chocolate consumption is associated with weight loss in women<\/span><\/a> and in adolescents<\/span><\/a>. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
At the very least, the weight of all this weighty evidence on weight suggests that chocolate is may not be the liability to your weight loss efforts that we have been told, and may even help you out there! And that\u2019s just good news all around. <\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n
See How Your Country Ranked <\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
1) in chocolate consumption and <\/span><\/div>\n
2) in obesity!<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n
Country<\/b>\u2003<\/span><\/b><\/o:p><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
Per capita consumption kg (2014)<\/b>\u2003<\/span><\/b><\/o:p><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
obesity rate<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Norway<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
6.6<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
10<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Switzerland<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
9<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
10.3<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Sweden<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
5.4<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
11.8<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Netherlands<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
4.7<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
12<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Austria<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
7.8<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
12.4<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Denmark<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
4.2<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
13.4<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Belgium<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
5.2<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
13.8<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
France<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
4.2<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
14.5<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Germany<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
7.9<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
14.7<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Finland<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
5.3<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
15.8<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Slovakia<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
5.4<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
16.9<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Estonia<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
6<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
19<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Ireland<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
7.5<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
23<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
United Kingdom<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
7.5<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
24.7<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
Australia<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
4.9<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
28.3<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
New Zealand<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
4.5<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
31.3<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n
USA<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
4.3<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
\n
35.3<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
<\/div>\n
Source: <\/span>http:\/\/www.oecd.org\/els\/health-systems\/Obesity-Update-2014.pdf<\/span><\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). <\/span><\/span><\/o:p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

For more information: Click here to visit Will Clower’s website. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Conventional wisdom tells us that chocolate can be a problem for our weight and health. And it doesn\u2019t really matter whether it\u2019s dark chocolate or milk chocolate.  While darker varieties … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[494],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7Qv5g-uY","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1874,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=1874","url_meta":{"origin":1920,"position":0},"title":"Chocolate Countdown, Number 1 Reason To Eat Chocolate That You Never Saw Coming","author":"Will Clower","date":"June 26, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Weight loss. Yes you do have to eat the right kind of chocolate, and no you can't over-consume it with a plunger.\u00a0But if you can manage those two issues (quantity and quality) then this is definitely the number 1 reason to eat chocolate, that you never saw coming!Follow @willclowerIf done\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.willclower.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/EatChocolateLoseWeight-180.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1958,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=1958","url_meta":{"origin":1920,"position":1},"title":"Chocolate Weight Loss? Cool Data:","author":"Will Clower","date":"April 9, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm writing my next book at this moment, which is going to be on chocolate and weight loss.\u00a0 This morning I ran across this article that has just been pubbed (see below):\u00a0\"Cocoa polyphenols suppress adipogenesis\u00a0in vitro\u00a0and obesity\u00a0in vivo\u00a0...\"SCIENCE-TO-ENGLISH DICTIONARY:The healthy stuff in cocoa reduces the creation of fat cells in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.willclower.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/WeightLossScale.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1865,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=1865","url_meta":{"origin":1920,"position":2},"title":"On That Fake Chocolate Study","author":"Will Clower","date":"August 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I find myself in an awkward position.\u00a0Journalist John Bohannon wanted to show that the scientific review process can have huge holes in it. He also wanted to show that the media review of scientific (sounding) stories is often completely uncritical.\u00a0Because of these two factors, what gets to the public can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.willclower.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Bohannan2BQuote.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2615,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=2615","url_meta":{"origin":1920,"position":3},"title":"Chocolate Eating Lessons","author":"Will Clower","date":"February 6, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Size, As We Know, Matters: Just as two glasses of wine help the heart, and two bottles per day kill the liver \u2026 a little chocolate is beneficial, but becomes a health (and weight) liability when over-consumed. Thus, what makes chocolate \u201cgood for you\u201d or \u201cbad for you\u201d has more\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1848,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=1848","url_meta":{"origin":1920,"position":4},"title":"A magic molecule of weight loss? This is a well done study, but I still have two issues with it.","author":"Will Clower","date":"January 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Magic molecules? Of course not.\u00a0 Although .... in\u00a0THIS STUDY\u00a0the guys at the Harvard School of Public Health assessed the dietary patterns of over 124,000 men and women for up to 24 years.\u00a0 They wanted to know A) what they were eating, and B) if those who were better able to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"magic_molecules","src":"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.willclower.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/magic_molecules-150x150.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1882,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=1882","url_meta":{"origin":1920,"position":5},"title":"Top 5 Reasons To Eat Chocolate, That You Totally Never Saw Coming","author":"Will Clower","date":"June 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I was talking with a woman who was struggling with her weight. \u201cYou know\u201d she offered, \u201cif I could just give up my chocolate addiction I could finally lose the weight.\u201dFollow @willclowerHoney, honey, honey, I replied. Chocolate\u2019s not your problem. Chocolate\u2019s your solution.She looked at me like I had grown\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.willclower.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/i-d-give-up-chocolate-but-i-m-no-quitter-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1920"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4020,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1920\/revisions\/4020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}