Investigator initiated grants from Mars Edge i.e. the Chocolate candy company. Mars edge a health focused dept which has like a cocoa based health supplement.
Competing interests: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form at https://www.icmje.org/disclosure-of-interest/ and declare: support from the National Institutes of Health for the submitted work. JEM reports receiving investigator initiated grants from Mars Edge. EBR is on the scientific advisory board and has received research funding from the US Department of Agriculture/US Highbush Blueberry growers commodity group.
I understand the implied incentives, but either there is fraud in the paper, or the methodology should reveal how the scientists contrived false outcomes.
Otherwise, why does the paper conclude that milk chocolate - Mars' biggest source of revenue from chocolate - has no association with good outcomes and has association with weight gain?