Cadbury commissioned the survey, which asked a nationally representative sample of 1,524 adults about their favourite way of treating themselves. About 52 per cent of the women questioned stated they would choose chocolate over sex. "Chocolate provides guaranteed pleasure," reasoned one of the female subjects. Tony Bilsborough, Cadbury's chocolate expert commented: "We know women enjoy eating chocolate, but we had no idea they liked it quite this much! Chocolate is clearly dear to the heart of many British women." It would seem however that chocolate is more of a feminine choice. Only 57 per cent of men classified chocolate as a mood enhancer, compared to 66 per cent of women. Even fewer men - 38 per cent - realised that chocolate releases mood enhancing endorphins. Older people are also less likely to associate chocolate and pleasure inducing chemicals, according to the survey. Only 31 per cent of chocolate lovers over 55 mentioned endorphins, compared to 63 per cen of 18-24 year olds. Cadbury stated that they noticed the varying popularity of chocolate from region to region across the UK. One in four people - both men and women - in the East of England would choose chocolate over sex, the highest in the UK, closely followed by Scotland at 35 per cent. At the lower end of the scale, only 21 per cent of Londoners would choose a chocolate bar as their number one treat.
