Increased chocolate consumption may cause weakening of the bones. The women who eat chocolate everyday tend to develop less dense bones and this prolonged use has more probability of causing ‘osteoporotic fracture’. This has been claimed in one of the research studies conducted by Dr Jonathan Hodgson and his colleague researchers at the ‘Royal Perth Hospital’.

A five year study was conducted among large sections of Australian women over the age of 70. All these women eagerly volunteered for a ‘five-year randomly controlled clinical trial’ of calcium supplementation to prevent fractures due to osteoporosis. A large number of such women participants, 1,001 in total, were involved in this specified study.

Researchers designed a particular questionnaire to study the daily intake of chocolate and other dietary pattern among the participant women. Techniques like the Ultrasound, computed tomography, and X-ray absorptiometry were adopted by the researchers to measure the bone-density and bone-strength. The statistics were then collected on the basis of pre-selected body parameters including the body sites, the heel, the shin and the hip.

At the end of the five years research study period, the researchers applied statistical methods to draw relationship between total chocolate intake and the bone strength and density. Other factors like age, body mass index (BMI), smoking status, physical activity, and other dietary factors that could have influenced the bone condition were also taken into consideration.

Researchers observed on the basis of the collected statistical analysis the at most of the body sites, a straight relationship could be drawn between the increased chocolate consumption with lower mean bone density at most of the body sites. However, it was also observed that there are certain areas of the body like the shin; they seem to be carrying no influence.

This study has various built in loopholes which necessitate the further research so as to confirm the relationship between the chocolate intake and the bone density. In addition to chocolate intake there are various other factors which might affect the bone density in the women. Moreover this fact cannot be generalized for the young groups of the women as the study included only the women over 70 years of age who were unable to walk. The study needs to be redesigned on more solid grounds, according to some experts.

Dr Jonathan Hodgson, the lead researcher also feel that further explorations with “additional cross-sectional and longitudinal studies” would definitely yield enough evidences to” confirm these observations”.

The findings of this study bring in some real concerning voice but it is not completely establishing a detrimental linkage between chocolate consumption and bone health. Researchers however suggest that because of its high fat and sugar content, chocolate should be consumed in moderate amounts.

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