This is scientific Americans 60 second science. I'm Karen Hopkins. This will just take a minute.

Looking for a diet that will help you burn fat, consider the chili. Because kapsaysan, the chemical compound that gives chili peppers their kick,

appears to prevent weight gain in mice that are fed a high-fat diet.

The finding was presented at the Biophysical Society's annual meeting in Baltimore.

Obesity is caused by an energy imbalance.

More calories go in than go out.

So conventional wisdom has it, to tip the scales the other way,

you could eat less less or move more. But maybe

there's a third option. Researchers treated mice to a diet high in fats, but

some mice also got a pinch of capsaicin. After 25 weeks, the mice with added

spice gained less weight than those on fat alone, even though they ate and drank the same amount.

Seems the mice that got the Caliente treatment were more likely to get off their

rodent rears. They naturally spent more time exercising than their fat-fed counterparts.

But before you stock up on chili-flavored cheetos, keep in mind that mice that ate a well-balanced diet in the first place were the most active and sleek.

So feel free to use your serracha, but maybe skip the chips.

Thanks for the minute.

For Scientific Americans 60 Second Science, I'm Karen Hopkins.