The smell of meat

The Effect of Meat

Consumption on Body Odor Attractiveness

By Havlicek J, Lenochova P

Axillary body odor is individually

specific and potentially a rich source of information about its producer. Odor individuality partly results from

genetic individuality, but the influence of ecological factors such as eating habits are another main source of odor

variability. However, we know very little about how particular dietary components shape our body odor. Here we

tested the effect of red meat consumption on body odor attractiveness. We used a balanced within-subject

experimental design. Seventeen male odor donors were on "meat" or "nonmeat" diet for 2 weeks wearing axillary pads

to collect body odor during the final 24 h of the diet. Fresh odor samples were assessed for their pleasantness,

attractiveness, masculinity, and intensity by 30 women not using hormonal contraceptives. We repeated the same

procedure a month later with the same odor donors, each on the opposite diet than before. Results of repeated

measures analysis of variance showed that the odor of donors when on the nonmeat diet was judged as significantly

more attractive, more pleasant, and less intense. This suggests that red meat consumption has a negative impact on

perceived body odor

hedonicity.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract

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