June 30/San Francisco/San Francisco Gate -- Kids who munch on Skittles and Snickers weigh less than those kids who do not eat candy, a new study finds.

Researchers at Louisiana State University collected data from more than 11,000 kids, age 2-18, between 1999-2004. They discovered that children who indulged in candy were 22% less likely to be overweight or obese than their counterparts who did not eat sweets.

What about the teenagers? Those who ate goodies were "26% less likely to be overweight or obese than their non-candy-eating counterparts," according to CBS News.

The study published in the June 14, 2011, edition of Food & Nutrition reported on another interesting finding: The blood of the candy-eating kids was found to have a lower level of the C-reaction protein (CRP), an indicator of inflammation in the body and a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

From the June 30, 2011, Prepared Foods' Daily News.