The smell of food before you eat it may be affecting your ability to lose weight successfully, according to a new study.
Researchers from the University of California investigated the connection between odour and metabolism in mice, and discovered a link between what can be smelt, and how the body then burns calories.
Through the use of gene therapy, the team blocked off the sense of smell in a group of obese mice. They then fed these mice a high-fat diet, and fed an identical diet to another group of obese mice who could still smell.
They found that the group of mice who couldn’t smell lost weight, while the mice who could smell gained weight.
Consequently, the researchers believe it shows that smelling food can result in the body storing calories rather than burning them off.
Senior author Andrew Dillin said: “Sensory systems play a role in metabolism. Weight gain isn’t purely a measure of the calories taken in; it’s also related to how those calories are perceived.
“If we can validate this in humans, perhaps we can actually make a drug that doesn’t interfere with smell but still blocks that metabolic circuitry. That would be amazing.
“For that small group of people, you could wipe out their smell for maybe six months and then let the olfactory neurons grow back, after they’ve got their metabolic program rewired.”
The researchers hope that the findings could be utilised to help people with eating disorders such as anorexia.
“This paper is one of the first studies that really shows if we manipulate olfactory inputs we can actually alter how the brain perceives energy balance, and how the brain regulates energy balance,” said researcher Celine Riera.
The study was published in the journal Cell Metabolism.
