Is excessive sugar harming your child's growth potential?

Author: Salted Salmon, Science Communicator. Review | Li Xu, Associate Professor at the University of Science and Technology of China, Member of the Chinese Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Planning and production.

Is excessive sugar harming your child's growth potential? Research links high capsaicin intake in children to potential growth issues and developmental disorders. Recommendations for parents included.

Parents are very concerned about their children's height and generally focus on their nutritional balance and physical exercise. However, there are instances where a child's height remains below the average for peers of the same race, gender, and age. If their height falls below two standard deviations or more, it may indicate a condition known as dwarfism. Among all children with short stature, 30% to 80% fall into the category of 'Idiopathic Short Stature' (ISS).

The term 'idiopathic' is used because the causes are indeed strange or inexplicable: the child shows no deficiency in growth hormone, their height, weight, and body proportions at birth are all normal, and there is no evidence of systemic, endocrine, nutritional, chromosomal abnormalities, or genetic mutations, yet they simply do not grow taller.

The medical community has been striving to determine the causes of this condition and whether factors such as genetics and heredity play a role. Recently, researchers from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University have proposed a startling new factor contributing to ISS—consumption of spicy food. This study was published in Nature Communications.

What influences a child's growth in height?

Based on long-term clinical observations, the research team identified a pattern: the prevalence of ISS (Idiopathic Short Stature) is significantly higher in the southwestern regions of China, such as Chongqing, Jiangxi, Hunan, and Guizhou. When thinking of the southwest, the first thought that often arises is the affinity for spicy food and the consumption of spicy dishes. In fact, Hunan province consistently ranks first in chili pepper consumption in the country, reaching up to 111.57 kilograms per person per year! Guizhou, Jiangxi, and Chongqing follow closely, each exceeding 95 kilograms per person per year. Could it be that... a penchant for spicy food genuinely impacts height?

To verify this hypothesis, the research team analyzed data from 106 children with ISS and 106 healthy controls, discovering significantly higher levels of a small molecule called miR-17-3p in the exosomes of children with ISS compared to the control group. To further explore this, the research team enlisted the help of an old laboratory friend—the rat.

The diet of the experimental group of rats was supplemented with 0.01% (w/w) capsaicin. At this concentration, a four-week-old rat consumed approximately 7.5 grams of feed daily, which corresponds to an intake of about 1.73 milligrams per kilogram for humans, closely aligning with the estimated intake of residents in Jiangxi. The results were surprising; these spicy-eating rats demonstrated significantly inferior body weight and length compared to the control group.

The average body length of the control group rats was approximately 40 centimeters, while the capsaicin group rats measured only about 36 centimeters, reflecting a remarkable reduction of a full 10%!

How does eating spicy food affect height?

This study suggests that a diet high in capsaicin may be among the environmental factors connected to some cases of ISS (Idiopathic Short Stature). In simpler terms, the problem for some children with ISS is not an insufficient supply of growth hormone but rather excessive intake of spicy food, which disrupts the functionality of the growth plate—the area responsible for receiving growth signals. The growth plate is the cartilage tissue located at the ends of long bones.

It facilitates the extension of bones toward both ends, like a bulldozer, through the continual proliferation and ossification of chondrocytes (converting cartilage into hard bone). Once the growth plate is hindered, it becomes difficult for bones to grow, even with ample 'fuel.' When exosomes saturated with miR-17-3p reach chondrocytes, miR-17-3p downregulates the ZNF148 protein, which subsequently inhibits SOS1, the central signaling molecule responsible for growth.

During normal development, SOS1 operates as the master switch activating the growth pathways. Forcefully deactivating this master switch significantly decreases the proliferation rate of chondrocytes, causing many cells to enter a state of 'pause.' This severely inhibits the ability of cartilage to transform into bone, resulting in the thinning of growth plates and establishing a lower 'ceiling' on height. What is especially frustrating is that it causes chondrocytes to develop a noticeable resistance to growth hormone, reducing the efficacy of costly growth hormone treatments.

But why did miR-17-3p suddenly become more abundant than others? The answer appears to lie in the gut. High doses of capsaicin may have compromised the structure of intestinal villi, triggering an accumulation of inflammatory cells. This intestinal inflammation activated a critical inflammatory signaling switch (NF-κB), and when activated, the intestinal epithelial cells begin producing miR-17-3p molecules excessively.

Eat what you should eat and drink what you should drink, while keeping portions in check.

Does this mean we can no longer consume chili peppers? Actually, there is no need for such drastic measures. This study stresses excessive and long-term consumption. At low concentrations, occasional chili consumption can even afford anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic protection and may promote the growth of intestinal cells. Parents should be attentive and observe their children's dietary habits. If a child has a continual craving for spicy food and is experiencing slow growth in height, it could be a cause for concern. For adults, there's considerably less reason for worry.

The growth plates have already closed, so this study presents no risk to your height. Regardless of how many spicy foods you consume, it won’t cause your height to shrink. The only potential downside might be discomfort in the restroom the following day due to excessive indulgence. Additionally, for ethical reasons, this study can only collect fecal samples from children to infer intestinal inflammation indirectly, and direct evidence cannot be obtained through endoscopy or biopsy.

The author emphasizes that this study primarily targets a specific population in a particular region, while there are numerous other locations worldwide (such as South Asia, Latin America, and parts of Africa) where spicy food is prevalent. Whether this conclusion is applicable to other populations consuming spicy food remains to be determined. Finally, it is crucial to recognize that even if someone is short, they should not hastily align themselves with these findings; if there are genuine concerns about abnormal height in their own children or those nearby, it is essential to seek prompt medical examination to avoid delaying treatment.

References

Wang, Y., Wu, Z., Yuan, J., Zhu, J., Ventin, M., Arya, S., Yu, P., Cattaneo, G., Huang, G., Zhao, W., Li, S., Zhang, J., Chen, Q., Wang, X., Li, L., Liu, X., Cheng, X., & Jia, J. (2025). Capsaicin diet drives gut inflammation and exosomal miR-17-3p elevation in idiopathic short stature. Nature Communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67883-2

Mireguli, M. (2024). Discussion on the genetic mechanisms and efficacy of growth hormone therapy in children with idiopathic short stature. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. https://doi.org/10.7499/j.issn.1008-8830.2408040