Eating chocolate for breakfast can help people lose weight, scientists have found.
Chocolate Cake
Researchers at Brigham and Woman's Hospital in Boston, USA, gave 100 grams of milk chocolate to 19 post-menopausal women within an hour of waking up and one hour before they went to sleep over a fortnight.
The results found that the chocolate intake made no difference in the participants' weight and actually aided weight loss.
The scientists suggested that eating chocolate in the morning helps to burn fat and reduce glucose levels in the blood whereas tucking in at night alters metabolism and regulates sleeping patterns.
The experts said: "Results show that females were less hungry when eating chocolate and had less desire for sweets than with no chocolate, especially when taking chocolate during the evening or night.
"Moreover, daily cortisol levels were lower when eating chocolate in the morning than during the evening or night."