Scientists at the university’s Sensory Evaluation Center investigated how increasing “oral burn”the tingling heat from chili peppers and similar ingredients affects how much people eat during a meal. Their findings, published online and forthcoming in the October issue of Food Quality and Preference, suggest that slightly spicier meals prompted participants to eat less and consume fewer calories overall.
“We suspected that making a meal spicier might slow people down. We thought, let’s test, under controlled experimental conditions in the lab, if adding a small amount of spice, but not so much that the meal is inedible, will make people eat slower and therefore eat less.”
The researchers found that increasing spiciness slightly using dried chili pepper slowed down eating and reduced the amount of food and energy consumed at a meal, all without negatively affecting the palatability of the dish.
Potential for Portion Control
“This points to added chilies as a potential strategy for reducing the risk of energy overconsumption,” said John Hayes, Penn State professor of food science and corresponding author on the paper. “While portion control wasn’t the explicit goal of this study, our results suggest this might work. Next time you’re looking to eat a little less, try adding a blast of chilies, as it may slow you down and help you eat less.”
The team conducted three related experiments in a total of 130 adults who were served one of two lunch meals — beef chili or chicken tikka masala — in one of two versions: mild or spicy. The spiciness level was controlled by carefully varying the ratio of hot versus sweet paprika added to the dishes to vary the heat while keeping chili flavor constant.
