COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Dark chocolate is far more filling than milk chocolate and it lessens the craving for sweet, salty and fatty foods, University of Copenhagen researchers say.
The researchers say it has been known for a long time that it is healthier to eat dark chocolate, but the scientists found that dark chocolate also gives people more of a feeling of satiety than milk chocolate.
To compare the effects of dark and milk chocolate on both appetite and subsequent calorie intake, 16 young and healthy men of normal weight who all liked both dark and milk chocolate took part in a so-called crossover experiment. They reported for two separate sessions, the first time testing the dark chocolate, and the second time the milk chocolate.
The men had all fasted for 12 hours beforehand and were offered 100 grams, or 3.5 ounces, of chocolate, which they consumed in the course of 15 minutes. The calorific content was virtually the same for the milk and dark chocolate.
The researchers described the results as significant. The calorie intake at the subsequent meal when the men could eat as much pizza as they liked was 15 percent lower when they had eaten dark chocolate beforehand.The participants also stated that the plain chocolate made them feel less like eating sweet, salty or fatty foods.
