If you happen to have a special liking for all things good and greasy like burgers, pizzas, fries, but also refrain from indulging into them due to their high-calorific content, then fret not! Here's a little good news for you. According to a recent study, published in the Journal of Marketing Research, smelling high-calorie food for just two minutes may help curb your appetite. Yes, you read that right! As per the study, the ambient food scent can directly make you feel satiated because the brain does not necessarily differentiate the source of sensory pleasure.
"Ambient scent can be a powerful tool to resist cravings for indulgent foods. In fact, subtle sensory stimuli like scents can be more effective in influencing children's and adults' food choices than restrictive policies," said lead author Dipayan Biswas, Professor at the University of South Florida in the US.
A direct connection between the length of exposure time and whether or not one will indulge was discovered by the researchers. A series of tests were also conducted by the researchers using a nebuliser that separately gave off the scent of healthy and unhealthy food items; for instance, cookies versus strawberries and pizza versus apples.
As per the findings of the study, the participants exposed to the smell of cookies for less than 30 seconds were more likely to want a cookie. However, those exposed for longer than two minutes did not find that cookie desirable and ended up choosing strawberries instead. A same association was spotted between the scent of pizza and apples.
Foods that are high in fat and sugar content tend to be calorie-dense. An extraordinary increase in the intake of such foods can undoubtedly increase the risk of various health-related issues like type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and even lead to weight gain.