Chili Consumption More Can Increase Obesity Risk, Really?

Illustration (Lum3n/Pexels)

JAKARTA - Cayenne pepper is a spicy and flavored chili used in many dishes around the world. Chili is included in the Capsicum genus, as is the case with peppers, jalapes, and habaneros.

Research highlights capsaicin, the main bioactive compound in chili, due to its promising health benefits, particularly for cardiovascular health. Evidence suggests that this has the potential to help manage obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

However, several large-scale observational studies, including a comprehensive cross-sectional study conducted in rural China. Has revealed a significant relationship between the overall frequency of spicy food intake and obesity.

This raises the question: does chili consumption reduce or increase the risk of obesity?

To explore this, a study published in Frontiers in Nutrition, reported by Medical News Today, Monday, June 10, researched the relationship between chili intake and the risk of obesity in America.

Similar to other observational studies, this new study found that the frequent consumption of chili is associated with a higher body mass index (BMI) and the risk of obesity, especially in women and adults over 60.

Despite the inconsistent findings about the role of chilies in obesity to date, experts offer a potential explanation for these conflicting results.

The study analyzed data from 6,138 American adults aged 20 years and over from the 2003 to 2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The researchers excluded pregnant individuals and those whose data was lost or unreliable regarding the consumption of chili, BMI, and total calorie intake.

The participants reported their own demographic and lifestyle factors such as age, gender, education, family income, smoking status, alcohol use, physical activity, and health conditions such as diabetes and hypertension.

About 51 percent of participants are women, and more than 34 percent are obese based on their BMI status. By using food frequency questionnaires, the NHANES survey evaluated the frequency of chili consumption over the previous 12 months.

Based on their response, the researchers divided the participants into 3 groups:

NHANES also estimates the habit of participants' nutritional intake by collecting food data for at least 2 consecutive days and calculating the average total calories, protein, carbohydrates, fats, sugar, and fiber.

After collecting data from the survey, the researchers conducted a series of statistical analysis following the guidelines of the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Their goal is to investigate the relationship between chili consumption and obesity prevalence among the adult population in general in the United States.

The study identified significant differences in demographic and lifestyle factors, as well as the risk of obesity, among the three chili consumption groups.

The researchers observed variations in age, gender, ethnicity, education, marital status, income, alcohol intake, physical activity, diabetes status, and eating habits. Although the average BMI between groups is similar (around 28.3 to 29.0), the higher frequency of chili consumption is associated with a greater risk of obesity.

About 30 percent of people who rarely eat chilies are obese, compared to about 35 percent of people who occasionally eat chilies and nearly 38 percent of people who often eat chilies.

Further analysis shows that, on average, people who often eat chilies have a BMI of 0.71 units higher than people who don't eat chilies. A fully adjusted research analysis also shows that the group with the highest chili consumption carries a 55 percent greater risk of obesity than non-consumers.

Of all the demographic and lifestyle factors, only gender has a major impact on the influence of chili consumption on BMI. In addition, the impact of chili consumption on the risk of obesity is more evident in women and individuals aged 60 years and over.

However, this study is observational so that researchers do not find a causal relationship between the frequency of chili consumption and the risk of obesity.