In a somewhat tongue-in-cheek move, the New England Journal of Medicine published a study called “Chocolate Consumption, Cognitive Function, and Nobel Laureates,” which included the above infographic.
And then, in what can only be referred to as a science journal smackdown, the Journal of Nutrition published a study titled “Does Chocolate Consumption Really Boost Nobel Award Chances? The Peril of Over-Interpreting Correlations in Health Studies.”
We’re in the process of writing a paper directed at the Journal of Nutrition on “The Perils of Taking Yourself Way Too Seriously.”
The lead-in to the original study posits that, “Chocolate consumption could hypothetically improve cognitive function not only in individuals but in whole populations. Could there be a correlation between a country’s level of chocolate consumption and its total number of Nobel laureates per capita?” And then, the above graph happened, where the authors plotted out a perceived correlation of .79. (For reference, +1 is perfect positive correlation.)
With that logic, you can assume that a whole country of people diving into chocolate rivers would yield a spectacular number of Nobel Laureates.
Need another reason to consume cocoa? How about this: dark chocolate may reduce blood pressure and lower body weight, according to NPR.
You’d better eat some dark chocolate every single day—just to be on the safe side.
[via the Daily Meal]