It is a scene repeated in curry houses around the world – male customers trying to prove their manhood by eating the hottest curry on the menu.

But now is seems this rite of manliness may actually be based on scientific fact afterresearchers have shown that only real men go for the spiciest food.

Physiologists at the University of Grenoble, in France, have found that men with a taste forspicy foods tend to have higher levels of the hormone testosterone.

Testosterone is known to make men more adventurous, aggressive and sexually active. Those with the highest levels tend to be more dominant, or the alpha male, of a group.

The researchers believe that by eating hot curries, men may also be boosting their hormone levels as chili peppers have been shown to increase testosterone levels in rats.

Professor Laurent Begue, who led the study, said: 'We demonstrated a positive correlation between salivary testosterone and the quantity of hot sauce male participants voluntarily and spontaneously consumed with a male.

'Additionally, testosterone levels correlated with participants' perceptions of the spiciness of their meal after a tasting task.