2.2. The Participants and the Study Flow
fatigue, ’ mood, CFS
As the results of the initial screening, a total of 108 Japanese healthy women were eligible to participate in the study when they met all of the following criteria: age 40–60 years, had been feeling fatigued in their everyday lives, had a body mass index (BMI) of 18.6–30 kg/mThe allocation manager (Okutoeru, LLC; Tokyo, Japan) stratified by CFS and d-ROMs values as allocation factors to randomize the participants to a cacao group and a placebo group in a 1:1 ratio (The participants were then required to undergo three tests: a pre-intake test (Week 0), a midpoint test (Week 4), and a post-intake test (Week 8). In all three tests, the participants’ feeling of fatigue was evaluated at Weeks 0 and 8 only, the participants’ mood states and autonomic nervous system activity were measured.