Eat chocolate to lose weight

Chocolate, fruit cake and baked beans - for breakfast - could be the key to losing weight.

People who eat certain types of sugars for breakfast are less tempted to snack during the morning and eat far less for lunch, new research claims. Eat the wrong sort of sugar, however, and you will quickly be ravenous again.

The findings show the right breakfast menu is the one which controls glucose in the blood by releasing sugar steadily throughout the day.

Glucose should remain constant, giving consistent energy, but some foods release large amounts of glucose quickly, giving a sugar rush which is quickly followed by a low. The body then craves more food, leading to snacking. The research team, from Oxford Brookes University, worked out the Glycaemic Index of foods by comparing the rise in blood glucose after eating different sorts of food.

They studied a group of children aged from nine to 12 and found that those who ate a low GI breakfast ate more moderately for the rest of the day because the sugars being released into their body kept hunger at bay.

Choosing the right breakfast is complicated, the researchers warned. Baguettes and gluten-free bread have a high GI while fruit loaf has a low GI. Nutritionist Natalie Savona said: "It's important to have breakfast. It affects our energy, mood and our ability to concentrate. Choose foods with a slow release, to keep you going until lunch."

The research, published today in US health journal Pediatrics, will reignite debate over which foods are most effective for dieters. It runs counter to the Atkins Diet which cuts out carbohydrate and sugar.