Researchers at the universities of Oulu and Helsinki have been tracking a group of businessmen since the 1960s, The Times of London reports. The men were born between 1919 and 1934 and are now in their 70s and 80s.

The research team reported in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition that 1,367 of the subjects with an average age of 76 responded to a recent survey. In that group, 860 reported eating chocolate, 399 other sweets and the rest no sweets at all.

The chocolate eaters had slimmer waists, were less likely to have diabetes and were somewhat better educated than those who ate other types of sweets. They also said they felt healthier, reported being less depressed and lonely and were more likely to be making plans for the future.