‘Sniffing out’ the difference
New research is kicking up a ‘stink’ as it confirms older people do have a ‘specific’ smell. American and Swedish scientists say humans can sniff out the difference between an elderly person’s and a younger person’s body odour. Results reveal older people actually put out a “less intense odour” than younger people.
New research is kicking up a ‘stink’ as it confirms older people do have a ‘specific’ smell.
American and Swedish scientists say humans can sniff out the difference between an elderly person’s and a younger person’s body odour.
Contrary to what most people may think, older people actually put out a less intense odour than their younger counterparts.
The study is reportedly the first of its kind assessing the human ability to distinguish someone’s age via their smell.
Scientists were led by Johan Lundstrom, of the University of Pennsylvania, and collected odour samples from 41 people. To gather the sample scents, scientists used underarm pads that the participants slept in for five nights.
The pads were sewn into shirts that had been washed with an odourless detergent.
Before going to bed each night, participants showered with odourless shampoo and soap. During the day they sealed their special shirts in plastic bags to prevent smell contamination.
Once the pads were collected, a different group of 41 people were each given two sample odours and had to guess which one belonged to an older person.
The samples were aged from 20 to 30 years, 45 to 55 years and 75 to 95 years.
Odours were also rated on a scale ranging from ”extremely unpleasant” to “extremely pleasant”. The results clearly showed the old-age group of odours were rated as less intense and less unpleasant when compared with the younger and middle-aged samples.
The researchers also found people were much more likely to accurately pick the smell of the 75 to 95-year-old.
Can you ‘sniff out’ the difference between an older person and a younger one? Share your thoughts on this study by commenting in the box below.
