Chocolate lovers rejoice - scientists say that starting your day with it could help your body burn fat.
Although the tasty treat has a reputation of being high in sugar, fat and caloric content, researchers believe it could aid weight loss.
Nineteen post-menopausal women were given 100 grams of milk chocolate within one hour of waking up and one hour before they went to sleep for two weeks, the Mirror reports.
Results from the study at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston found that the chocolate intake made no difference in the participants' weight - and actually aided weight loss.
It said that eating chocolate in the morning can actually help lower glucose levels in the blood and burn fat.
It is believed this could be because flavanols, the beneficial chemicals found naturally in cocoa, increase fat oxidation.
Meanwhile eating chocolate at night helped to regulate sleeping patterns and alter metabolism.
Frank A.J. L. Scheer, a neuroscientist with the division of sleep and circadian disorders, said: "Having chocolate in the morning or the evening/night results in differential effects on hunger and appetite, substrate oxidation, fasting glucose, microbiota (composition and function), and sleep and temperature rhythms.
"Our findings highly that not only 'what' but also 'when' we eat can impact physiological mechanisms involved in the regulation of body weight."
The researchers added: "Results show that females were less hungry when eating chocolate and had less desire for sweets than with no chocolate, especially when taking chocolate during the evening/night.
"Moreover, daily cortisol levels were lower when eating chocolate in the morning than at evening/night."
Even if you do snack on chocolate first thing, they stressed that it should still be eaten in moderation as part of a balanced diet.
The new study, published in The FASEB Journal, comes after other recent research into the potential benefits of eating cocoa, the primary ingredient in chocolate.
