What this trial studies
The purpose of this investigation is to test the hypothesis that in humans, eating a relatively big amount of chocolate at the wrong time (bedtime) may disrupt our circadian system (change the circadian phase), while taking this same amount of chocolate in the morning (wake up condition) may synchronize it. Other related factors may be also affected such as total body weight and body fat, dietary habits (total energy intake and macronutrient distribution), the timing of food intake and of sleep, daily rhythms of TAP, microflora composition and postprandial glycemia.
Conditions in scope
- Menopause
Interventions
- Chocolate 100gr (Behavioral) — Evening/Night Chocolate: Eating 100gr of milk chocolate within 1 hours of habitual bedtime Control Chocolate: Eating no milk chocolate or other chocolate Chocolate Morning: Eating chocolate within one hour of habitual waketime.
Who can join
Women only · Ages 45 Years to 65 Years · Accepts healthy volunteers.
Inclusion criteria
- Healthy women
- Age: between 45 and 65 year of age
- Caucasian
- Menopause
Exclusion criteria
- Pre-menopause women
- Endocrine (Diabetes mellitus or others), renal, hepatic, cancer or psychiatric disorders
- Receiving any pharmacologic treatment other than oral contraceptives
- Bulimia diagnosis, prone to binge eating
- Pregnancy
Eligibility wording paraphrased from the public record. View the full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov before contacting a site.
Where it’s happening
No site locations are listed in the public record. Check ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact info.
Status & timeline
- Overall status: Completed
- Study type: Interventional
- Phase: N/A
- Start date: 2016-11-01
- Primary completion: 2017-01-15
- Last update posted: 2025-04-15
- First posted: 2019-05-14
Sponsor & contact
Lead sponsor: Universidad de Murcia (Other)
For trial site contact information, use the official record at ClinicalTrials.gov. Contact details change frequently and the public record is the source of truth.
Outcome measures
Primary outcomes
- Resting Energy Expenditure (Indirect Calorimetry) (Baseline and after 2 weeks in each condition)
The investigators will measure by indirect calorimetry the resting energy expenditure after each condition (no chocolate, Morning Chocolate, Night Chocolate) Changes in Resting Energy Expenditure (Indirect Calorimetry) were determined by changes in resting energy expenditure occurred in the participants between baseline and after 2 weeks in each of the three different experimental conditions. Oxygen (O2) consumption (mL/min) and carbon dioxide… - Total Body Weight (Baseline and after 2 weeks in each condition)
The investigators will measure total body weight after each condition (no chocolate, Morning Chocolate, Night Chocolate)
Related ClearedRx care
If you’re reading this trial because you have menopause symptoms now, you don’t have to wait for a trial to access evidence-based care. ClearedRx prescribes the same FDA-approved and compounded HRT products that have been studied in trials like this one for decades.
Important. Information from ClinicalTrials.gov as of May 8, 2026. Trial details (status, sites, contacts, eligibility, outcomes) change frequently — always check the official record at https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03949803 before contacting a site.
ClearedRx is not affiliated with this trial or its sponsor. We index public-domain ClinicalTrials.gov records to help patients find evidence-based context for menopause care decisions. ClearedRx itself is a telehealth menopause/HRT brand — we do not enroll patients in trials.