Trying to resist junk food? Just immerse yourself in its tasty scent

BEING surrounded by the scent of a burger or pizza for two minutes is enough to banish your cravings for junk food, new research claims.

Smelling the aroma for less than 30 seconds will tantalize you and drive you to give in to temptation.

But 90 seconds more will satisfy your senses, according to a new study on humans who were exposed to the scent of strawberries, apples, biscuits and pizza.

Lead author Professor Dipayan Biswas said: “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.”

The findings in the Journal of Marketing Research may lead to food-scented air fresheners and room sprays encouraging people to eat more healthily.

Biswas and colleagues exposed participants to the scent of strawberries, apples, biscuits or pizza.

The experiments involved dozens of US teenagers in a school cafeteria and a supermarket, with the results backed up in the lab.

Previous research has shown a whiff of fried food is enough to make us buy one.

But Biswas said putting yourself through 120 seconds of the torment may actually help you to say no.

He said one manufacturer in the US was already making cupcake-scented and cookie-scented air fresheners.

He said marketers are increasingly using ambient scent as a strategic tool to differentiate from the competition, attract customers, stimulate sales, influence mood and create a pleasant and memorable shopping experience.

They are often infused in retail stores, supermarkets, hotels, restaurants and cafeterias, airplanes and stadiums.

Biswas said: “There is a growing trend toward focusing on olfactory cues as a strategic element in retail atmospherics.

“In a recent trend, restaurants are adding artificial ambient scents of foods that may not even be on their menus.” |