Chocolate has been receiving a lot of good press, including purported benefits in weight loss (Arch Intern Med 2012;172:519-521.) and now for cognitive function (NEJM 2012; 367: 1562-64).

The first article looked at the chocolate consumption of 975 subjects who completed food frequency questionnaires.  The mean age of these participants was 57 years.  “After controlling for multiple potential confounders including sex, physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake, depression, and total caloric intake, frequency of chocolate consumption continued to be associated with lower BMI.”

The second study shows a correlation with a countries’ annual per capita chocolate consumption and the number of Nobel laureates per 10 million population.  The highest per capita rate of Nobel prizes is in Switzerland!  The author notes that cocoa and other flavonols seem to be effective in slowing or reversing reductions in cognitive performance that occurs with aging and have other potential benefits.  One of the limitations in the author’s analysis included reverse causation —that is enhanced cognitive performance could stimulate more countrywide chocolate consumption.  This seems more plausible to me.  Fortunately for readers of this intriguing study, the author did provide a relevant disclosure: “Dr. Meserli reports regular daily chocolate consumption, mostly…Lindt’s dark varieties.”