Depressed People Tend to Consume More Chocolate: Study

People suffering from depression eat more chocolate, and the amount increases with the severity of their illness, a new study released Monday found.

"Our study confirms long-held suspicions that eating chocolate is something that people do when they are feeling down," said Dr. Beatrice Golomb of the University of California at San Diego, a co-author of the study appearing in the April 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

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Researchers looked at chocolate consumption and mood in about 1,000 adults who were not on anti-depressive medications and did not have heart disease or diabetes.

Participants were asked about the amount of chocolate they ate in a week. Their degree of depression was assessed on a scale called the "Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale."

The researchers found that test subjects with the highest rankings -- that is, those who were most depressed -- consumed almost 12 portions of chocolate (each one about 28 grams) per month, compared to five a month in the same time period for those with no depression symptoms.

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Moderately depressed subjects ate eight portions a month.

The study did not differentiate between milk chocolate and dark chocolate.

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"The findings did not appear to be explained by a general increase in caffeine, fat, carbohydrate or energy intake, suggesting that our findings are specific to chocolate," Golomb stressed.

Nor was there any difference in consumption of other antioxidant-rich foods, such as fish, coffee, fruits and vegetables between those with depression and those who were not depressed, she explained.

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Additional research is needed to determine "the basis of this association, as well as the role of chocolate in depression, as cause or cure," researchers said.

Source-AFP
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