Study Finds Correlation Between Chocolate Consumption And Nobel Prize Winners

Switzerland beats out the rest of the world in chocolate consumption and Nobel Prize winners. As it turns out, there may be a correlation to the two things. A group of U.S. surveyors created a study that looked at the possible connections between the number of prizes won and the amount of chocolate consumed by that country’s culture. Of course the study hasn’t been peer reviewed—the kiss of death in scholarly culture—but it’s still pretty cool.

St Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in New York created the study, which initially went underway after Franz Messerli was asked to look over a study on flavanols. Flavanols are found in tea, wine, and chocolate and can help boost brain power. A second study with a random sample size will have to be achieved before a correlation between chocolate and Nobel Prize brains can be made, but some of the facts the study pulled out are still pretty interesting.

For instance, according to notes from the study posted at The Bell Jar, the United States is only middling when it comes to chocolate consumption and Nobel Prize winners. In order to catch up with Switzerland and other top purveyors of chocolate (and prize wins), the U.S. would have to add 275 million pounds to its current intake to even get close to catching up. That’s a lot of extra miles people would have to run to keep up their weight.

To read more about the study, all you need to do is nab a copy of the New England Journal of Medicine.