Spicy food consumption is associated with abdominal obesity among Chinese Han population aged 30-79 years in the Sichuan Basin: a population-based cross-sectional study

Xianxian Yang; Wenge Tang; Deqiang Mao; Xiang Liu; Wen Qian; Yingxue Dai; Liling Chen; Xianbin Ding

doi:10.1186/s12889-022-14293-4

Spicy food consumption is associated with abdominal obesity among Chinese Han population aged 30-79 years in the Sichuan Basin: a population-based cross-sectional study

BMC Public Health. 2022 Oct 10;22(1):1881. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-14293-4.

Authors

Xianxian Yang¹, Wenge Tang¹, Deqiang Mao¹, Xiang Liu², Wen Qian³, Yingxue Dai³, Liling Chen⁴, Xianbin Ding⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Non-Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chongqing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chongqing, 400042, China.
² West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, 610041, Sichuan, China.
³ Chengdu Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chengdu, 610047, China.
⁴ Department of Non-Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chongqing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chongqing, 400042, China. mbcllgz@163.com.
⁵ Department of Non-Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chongqing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chongqing, 400042, China. xianbinding@126.com.

Abstract

Background: Few animal experiments and volunteer-based intervention studies have showed a controversial effect of spicy foods on abdominal obesity. We aimed to examine the association between spicy food frequency, spicy flavor, and abdominal obesity among Chinese Han population in the Sichuan Basin which area eating spicy foods relatively often.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using the Sichuan Basin baseline data from the China Multi-Ethnic Cohort (CMEC) study, including data from electronic questionnaires, anthropometric measurements and blood sample collection. A total of 40,877 adults (22,503 females) aged 30-79 years were included in the final analysis. Multivariable logistic regression yielded adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for abdominal obesity associated with the strength of spicy flavor and frequency of spicy food intake.

Results: The prevalence of daily spicy food eating was 47.3% in males and 52.7% in females, the percentages of abdominal obesity were 52.3%, 48.8%, 51.6% and 55.5% in the spicy food intake subgroups of never, 1-2 days/week, 3-5 days/week and 6-7 days/week, respectively. Compared with males who never consumed spicy food, the adjusted ORs (95% CIs) in the 1-2 days/week, 3-5 days/week and 6-7 days/week subgroups were 1.21 (1.09, 1.34), 1.35 (1.21, 1.51), and 1.35 (1.25, 1.47), respectively (P_trend < 0.001). The corresponding odds ratios for females were 0.95 (0.87, 1.05), 1.14 (1.03, 1.26), and 1.25 (1.16, 1.35), respectively (P_trend < 0.001). Similarly, compared with no spicy flavor, the adjusted ORs (95% CIs) of mild, middle, and strong spicy strength for abdominal obesity in males were 1.27 (1.17, 1.38), 1.51 (1.37, 1.67), and 1.36 (1.11, 1.67) respectively (P_trend < 0.001). The corresponding odds ratios for females were 1.14 (1.06, 1.23), 1.27 (1.15, 1.40), and 1.32 (1.06, 1.65), respectively (P_trend < 0.001).

Conclusions: The data indicated that spicy food consumption was a risk factor for abdominal obesity among Chinese adult population in the Sichuan Basin. The results need to be approved by large cohort studies.

Keywords: Abdominal obesity; Han population; Spicy food consumption; Waist circumference.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

China / epidemiology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Diet*
Electrolytes
Female
Humans
Male
Obesity / epidemiology
Obesity, Abdominal* / epidemiology
Risk Factors

Substances

Electrolytes