Study finds link between chocolate consumption and depression

A new study from the US has found a possible link between eating more chocolate and an increase in symptoms of depression.

The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine research found that men and women who eat at least a bar every week are more likely to be depressed than those who indulge occasionally as a treat.

This study was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine and was conducted among nearly 1,000 adults, none of whom had been diagnosed with clinical depression or were receiving treatment or medication for it.

Beatrice Golomb, associate professor of medicine at UCSD School of Medicine and co-author of the study, stated that the cross-sectional nature of the study meant that it could not prove whether chocolate decreases or intensifies feelings of depression.

However, she added: “Our study confirms long-held suspicions that eating chocolate is something that people do when they are feeling down.”