Chocolate can help people lose weight.

Chocolate has several health benefits

Chocolate has several health benefits

Scientists have found that a chemical called theobromine - found in both milk and dark chocolate - has a number of health benefits including helping people to slim down and protecting the brain from age-related decline.

Theobromine improves the body's ability to break down fats while the Chinese experts argue that the anti-inflammatory properties could help to treat Alzheimer's disease.

The team from Zhengzhou University wrote in the Journal of Functional Foods: "Theobromine showcases neuro-protective attributes, enhances cognitive function and holds promise in mitigating age-related cognitive decline and neurodegenerative disorders.

"In daily life, theobromine can be used as a health supplement to help regulate immune function, promote fat metabolism and maintain cardiovascular health.

"It can also be utilised for the development of obesity treatment drugs or formulations due to its anti-obesity effects."