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Published in: BMC Public Health 1/2022

Open Access 01-12-2022 | Obesity | Research

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

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

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2022

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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 (Ptrend < 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 (Ptrend < 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 (Ptrend < 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 (Ptrend < 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.
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Metadata
Title
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
Authors
Xianxian Yang
Wenge Tang
Deqiang Mao
Xiang Liu
Wen Qian
Yingxue Dai
Liling Chen
Xianbin Ding
Publication date
01-12-2022
Publisher
BioMed Central
Keywords
Obesity
Obesity
Published in
BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2022
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14293-4

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