Turning up the heat in your meals could be a surprisingly simple way to reduce how much you eat, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State University.
The findings, published in the journal Food Quality and Preference, show that slightly spicier meals can help people eat more slowly and consume fewer calories—without making the food any less enjoyable.
The study was led by Paige Cunningham, a postdoctoral researcher who earned her Ph.D. in nutritional sciences at Penn State. She and her team wanted to find out whether adding a bit of spice—enough to notice, but not so much that the food became unpleasant—could influence how quickly and how much people eat during a meal.
“We know that when people slow down while eating, they tend to eat less,” Cunningham said. “We thought, what if we could use a small amount of spice to naturally slow people down?”
To test this idea, the team conducted three experiments involving 130 adult participants. Each person was served one of two popular dishes—beef chili or chicken tikka masala—in either a mild or a slightly spicy version. To control the heat level, the researchers carefully adjusted the amount of hot paprika in the recipes while keeping the flavor profile similar.
The meals were served in a lab setting, and participants were recorded on high-definition video as they ate. This allowed the researchers to measure how long people took to finish the meal, how fast they ate (in grams per minute), how large their bites were, and how often they took bites. They also asked participants how hungry they felt before and after eating, and how much they liked the meal.
The results were clear: people who ate the spicier meals ate more slowly and ended up eating less food and fewer calories than those who had the milder versions. Yet, they didn’t feel any less satisfied—and their enjoyment of the meal was just as high.
“This suggests that using chilies could be a simple and practical strategy to help reduce how much we eat,” said John Hayes, professor of food science at Penn State and the study’s senior author. “It’s not about making food painfully hot. Just a little extra heat can make a big difference.”
Interestingly, the researchers also found that people didn’t drink more water with spicy meals, which ruled out the idea that they were filling up on water instead of food. And their appetite ratings were about the same before and after eating, whether the food was spicy or mild.
Cunningham explained that spicier food seems to slow down the eating process, which helps signal to the brain that it’s full. “When people eat more slowly, the food stays in their mouth longer, which may increase feelings of fullness and satisfaction,” she said.
This idea is consistent with other research showing that slower eating—sometimes caused by tougher or more textured foods—can lead to lower food intake.
The study’s careful recipe development also played a role. It took multiple rounds of testing to get the spiciness level just right—strong enough to change behavior, but still tasty. “My lab mates were pretty tired of chicken tikka by the end,” Cunningham joked, “but science is all about persistence.”
Looking ahead, the research team plans to explore how spicy foods might influence other eating behaviors, such as snacking.
This study was supported by a gift from the McCormick Science Institute and funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It also involved contributions from undergraduate student Isaiah Smith, through a research internship with NASA’s Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium.
In short, adding a small kick of chili to your meal might not just add flavor—it might also help you eat a little less and feel just as full.
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The research findings can be found in Food Quality and Preference.
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