The role of an individual’s olfactory discriminability in influencing snacking and habitual energy intake
Appetite. 2021-12-01; 167: 105646
DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2021.105646
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Ginieis R(1), Abeywickrema S(1), Oey I(1), Franz EA(2), Perry T(3), Keast RSJ(4), Peng M(5).
Author information:
(1)Sensory Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Food Science, University of
Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
(2)Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
(3)Division of Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
(4)School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne,
Australia.
(5)Sensory Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Food Science, University of
Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Electronic address: .
Recent studies have revealed close links between human olfaction, appetite, and
food choice. However, it remains unclear whether olfactory sensitivity plays a
direct role in determining food and energy intake. The present study addresses
this question by assessing relationships between individual olfactory
discriminability (at a suprathreshold level), snacking, and habitual energy
intake. A total of 92 healthy Caucasian males (mean age = 26.1, SD = 5.8) were
tested for their olfactory discriminability (measured by d’) to three
food-related odorants (O1 – Vanillin, O2 – Methional, and O3 – Maltol/Furaneol
mixture) with a 2-AFC method of constant stimuli. These sensory data were then
analysed with two separate measures of food consumption – (1) snack energy
intake within an ad libitum buffet setting; (2) habitual energy intake using
four-day weighed food records. Univariate analyses of variance revealed
significant results with regards to O1. Specifically, individuals with higher
discriminability consumed significantly less energy from snacking as opposed to
their less sensitive counterparts (p = 0.05). However, no significant
relationship was found between individual olfactory discriminability and
habitual energy intake. While recent years have seen increasing research focus
on how external olfactory cues affect food consumption, our study offers
particularly novel insights regarding the role of individual olfactory
sensitivity in shaping eating behaviour.