How men can sniff out a fertile female

WOMEN who smell attractive to men are more likely to be highly fertile, scientists have found.

A study revealed a close correlation between feminine odours that male participants judged pleasant and hormone combinations that indicate a good chance of getting pregnant.

Previous research identified a link between perceived attractiveness in women and hormones relating to fertility, but the new experiment, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, is the first of its kind to indicate that the link also exists for smell.

Its authors believe that, as in the animal kingdom, humans use chemicals detectable by smell to communicate their reproductive ability, and that the genes of women who smell attractive are more likely to propagate because men will be more motivated to procreate with them.

The study also showed that, as with facial and bodily attractiveness, men show a high degree of agreement as to which odours they think are desirable.

“Smelling another person’s body odour can be a poignant and sexually arousing experience, or it can be rather unpleasant and offputting,” the authors wrote.

“These findings provide evidence that body odours act as a valid cue to potential fertility.”

The study was based on 57 men rating the odours of 28 healthy women of naturally reproductive age.

The women adhered to a strict schedule of dietary and behavioural restrictions in order to remove factors that would distort the results. Body smell was collected from under the armpits using cotton pads in the hours after they washed with odourless soap.