Could chocolate give you a smaller waistline?

PHOENIX - If you've been avoiding chocolate to help you lose weight, there's a new reason to indulge once more.

A new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine finds that people who eat chocolate regularly may actually have a lower body mass index than those who do not.

BMI measures body fat based on a person's height and weight.

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego found that the test subjects who ate chocolate didn't exercise any more than the group who didn't eat chocolate.

The chocolate group also ate the same amount of calories as the other group.

The researchers believe ingredients contained in chocolate help to offset the amount of calories consumed by your body raising your metabolism.

But before you go overboard, a head researcher from UC San Diego says you should still limit how much chocolate you eat or risk derailing your diet.