A lecturer from Edge Hill University has discovered that chocolate can be manufactured in a way which may help with weight management, and it won’t taste any different.

Dr Catherine Tsang, Senior Lecturer in Human Nutrition and Health in the Faculty of Health and Social Care, collaborated with top Belgian chocolate company, Barry Callebaut, who manufacture chocolate using the Acticoa method, to preserve important compounds within the cocoa.

Usually when chocolate is produced, some of the compounds within the cocoa are lost, however the Acticoa method ensures that over 80 per cent of the antioxidant properties – the polyphenols – are retained, meaning a larger amount of these healthy compounds are consumed.

So what are the health benefits of these compounds? And are there any benefits of adding fibre to chocolate? Catherine has conducted research to find out whether consuming polyphenol-rich dark chocolate and adding fibre can help us feel fuller for longer.

Dark chocolate has a greater content of cocoa and lower content of sugar compared to milk chocolate, so chocolatiers at Barry Callebaut developed three types of dark chocolate buttons for the project, which all tasted and looked exactly the same. One type contained polyphenol-rich dark chocolate, one contained the same chocolate with added fibre, and the final chocolate was a placebo, low in polyphenols and matched for energy and other nutrients.

Twelve healthy volunteers consumed 20g of each chocolate on three separate occasions.

As well as analysing their normal food intake before and after consuming each type of chocolate, urine samples were also collected to measure levels of polyphenols.

They were then invited to an open buffet where they could consume as much as they liked of a test meal so Catherine could measure their satiety.

The volunteers were also asked to complete a visual analogue scale which recorded their feeling of hunger and desire to eat before and then after consuming the chocolate, which they filled in six times at different intervals within two hours of consumption of chocolate.

After 15 minutes of consuming the polyphenol-rich chocolate with added fibre, desire to eat was significantly less. The volunteers felt like they had eaten enough, they were kept full for an average of two hours and consumed less calories the following day. Similar findings were also found after consuming polyphenol-rich chocolate without added fibre but were more effective with added fibre. No effect was found after the placebo chocolate.

Fibre has many health benefits and the recommended daily intake in the UK is 30g a day, with the average person only consuming between 17 – 20g. Manufacturing chocolate with added fibre could help people increase their intake, keeping them fuller for longer.

This means that dark chocolate containing preserved polyphenols and added fibre could be used as a healthy snack, as part of a healthy balanced diet.

Catherine has been working with academics at the University of Edinburgh, Queen Margaret University and Liverpool Hope University, and they plan to carry out further studies to monitor satiety over a longer period of time, and to understand their mechanism.

Students Megan Green and Amy Lindsay

The importance of ‘play for the sake of playing’ was examined at a unique event featuring pop up adventure playgrounds, hula hoops, bubble machines and the research behind all the fun at Edge Hill University.

Specialist practitioners and academics were on hand to explain why playing, colouring, making and simply enjoying yourself is important at the Play Symposium in the Faculty of Health and Social Care.

The aim of the event was to celebrate play, from childhood to adulthood, and raising awareness of play as a fundamental human right; considering the wider holistic benefits of play including therapeutic uses and supporting resilience, mental health and wellbeing.

Suzanna Law

The symposium featured guest speaker Suzanna Law, one of the founders of UK based charity Pop Up Adventure Play. The pop up adventure playground model is a temporary play space that can be set up anywhere for open-ended play with loose parts and materials, and supervised by playworkers.

Standing next to a homemade playground comprising sturdy tubes and recycled materials, she explained what the charity is about. “It’s amazing what children are capable of if they are given a little time to play. We show adults how great play can be and encourage children to do it, explaining why play is important and what children can get out of it,”

“Play is as important as eating, sleeping and breathing for a child,” said Suzanna. “If a child is play deprived there is a fundamental jigsaw piece missing, it contributes to movement and skills and executive functioning – any task that requires planning, organization, memory, time management and flexible thinking becomes a challenge.

“Parents are sometimes worried that children might fall behind if they are playing rather than learning, and also don’t want them to go outside because they think ti’s not safe, but society has never been safer. Children shouldn’t be missing out.”

Karen Boardman

Karen Boardman, Head of Early Years in the Faculty of Education spoke to the students about play deprivation, and how play is implicated in children’s brain development, and there was the opportunity to try different play materials such as bubbles, homemade play dough and other sensory play materials, hula hoops and photo booths with dressing up costumes.

Zoi Moula, a Graduate Teaching Assistant who is completing her PhD in Arts Therapies outlined her current research which involves working with children in mainstream primary schools to understand their perspectives and physical responses to movement.

But play isn’t just important to children, the idea of play for all ages was also included.

Catherine Wilkinson, Lecturer in Children, Young People and Families, explained how young people engage with radio and how young people use radio to play. She worked with Community Station KCC Live in Knowsley when carrying out her research. She said: “Radio is a whole lifespan play activity,” she said, “for example editing or recording a voice over is a kind of play, and adults play with the technology as well.

“Adults also play when they take part in drama, a theatre production, wearing costumes, fancy dress, just because you’re older doesn’t mean you don’t play any more.”

John Marsden

John Marsden, lecturer in Counselling in the Faculty of Health and Social Care also discussed with the students the benefits of colouring, adult colouring, and relaxation, and also how some young people he has worked with have gained control of their life through the medium of colouring.

The event was organised by Hayley McKenzie and Laura Ashton-Goldthorpe and is part of the programme of study for students in Child Health and Wellbeing and Health and Social Wellbeing degree courses.

Hayley said: “We wanted to look at play through the ages, from birth onwards, considering what it provides physically, for wellbeing, emotionally and in the community.

“Everybody should play and can play. Play shouldn’t have to end in a product – it is something to do for the sake of playing and it doesn’t have an end result.

“When we play and enjoy ourselves chemicals such as serotonin are released in the brain, research by Simon Young published in the Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience in 2007 suggests that serotonin which is found in the brain when we experience positive mood plays a role, not only in the treatment of depression but also in susceptibility to depression and suicide.”

“Likewise play is seen as a tool for happiness, reducing anxiety, strain and burn out, it contributes to relationship success boosts your immune system and promotes overall holistic health and wellbeing in all ages. Everybody needs to make more time for play.”

Find out more about studying Applied Health and Social Care Courses here.

Students Megan Green and Amy Lindsay

The importance of ‘play for the sake of playing’ was examined at a unique event featuring pop up adventure playgrounds, hula hoops, bubble machines and the research behind all the fun at Edge Hill University.

Specialist practitioners and academics were on hand to explain why playing, colouring, making and simply enjoying yourself is important at the Play Symposium in the Faculty of Health and Social Care.

The aim of the event was to celebrate play, from childhood to adulthood, and raising awareness of play as a fundamental human right; considering the wider holistic benefits of play including therapeutic uses and supporting resilience, mental health and wellbeing.

Suzanna Law

The symposium featured guest speaker Suzanna Law, one of the founders of UK based charity Pop Up Adventure Play. The pop up adventure playground model is a temporary play space that can be set up anywhere for open-ended play with loose parts and materials, and supervised by playworkers.

Standing next to a homemade playground comprising sturdy tubes and recycled materials, she explained what the charity is about. “It’s amazing what children are capable of if they are given a little time to play. We show adults how great play can be and encourage children to do it, explaining why play is important and what children can get out of it,”

“Play is as important as eating, sleeping and breathing for a child,” said Suzanna. “If a child is play deprived there is a fundamental jigsaw piece missing, it contributes to movement and skills and executive functioning – any task that requires planning, organization, memory, time management and flexible thinking becomes a challenge.

“Parents are sometimes worried that children might fall behind if they are playing rather than learning, and also don’t want them to go outside because they think ti’s not safe, but society has never been safer. Children shouldn’t be missing out.”

Karen Boardman

Karen Boardman, Head of Early Years in the Faculty of Education spoke to the students about play deprivation, and how play is implicated in children’s brain development, and there was the opportunity to try different play materials such as bubbles, homemade play dough and other sensory play materials, hula hoops and photo booths with dressing up costumes.

Zoi Moula, a Graduate Teaching Assistant who is completing her PhD in Arts Therapies outlined her current research which involves working with children in mainstream primary schools to understand their perspectives and physical responses to movement.

But play isn’t just important to children, the idea of play for all ages was also included.

Catherine Wilkinson, Lecturer in Children, Young People and Families, explained how young people engage with radio and how young people use radio to play. She worked with Community Station KCC Live in Knowsley when carrying out her research. She said: “Radio is a whole lifespan play activity,” she said, “for example editing or recording a voice over is a kind of play, and adults play with the technology as well.

“Adults also play when they take part in drama, a theatre production, wearing costumes, fancy dress, just because you’re older doesn’t mean you don’t play any more.”

John Marsden

John Marsden, lecturer in Counselling in the Faculty of Health and Social Care also discussed with the students the benefits of colouring, adult colouring, and relaxation, and also how some young people he has worked with have gained control of their life through the medium of colouring.

The event was organised by Hayley McKenzie and Laura Ashton-Goldthorpe and is part of the programme of study for students in Child Health and Wellbeing and Health and Social Wellbeing degree courses.

Hayley said: “We wanted to look at play through the ages, from birth onwards, considering what it provides physically, for wellbeing, emotionally and in the community.

“Everybody should play and can play. Play shouldn’t have to end in a product – it is something to do for the sake of playing and it doesn’t have an end result.

“When we play and enjoy ourselves chemicals such as serotonin are released in the brain, research by Simon Young published in the Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience in 2007 suggests that serotonin which is found in the brain when we experience positive mood plays a role, not only in the treatment of depression but also in susceptibility to depression and suicide.”

“Likewise play is seen as a tool for happiness, reducing anxiety, strain and burn out, it contributes to relationship success boosts your immune system and promotes overall holistic health and wellbeing in all ages. Everybody needs to make more time for play.”

Find out more about studying Applied Health and Social Care Courses here.