Trouble sticking to your diet? Try sniffing chocolate

It might seem like a dieter’s idea of torture to sit down to a salad while being exposed to the tempting aroma of chocolate. But instead of luring you to break your healthy eating regimen, seductive smells could actually help you stick to it, a study suggests.

An international team of researchers carried out five studies involving hundreds of university students to determine whether smell could have an impact on temptation. One study had them wear T-shirts scented with chocolate essence oil, another had participants watch a nature video before being presented with images of chips, fruit salad, chocolate chip ice cream and a chocolate chip granola bar.

The results of all the studies were combined that discovered that the students had better restraint after smelling chocolate, indicating that a ‘diet goal’ was activated. The study published in the Journal of Business Research went on to suggest that gyms might consider using an unhealthy but indulgent food scent to encourage better dieting behaviour.