In a world of misinformation, Fitness Pudding is here to separate fact from fallacy, and science from fiction.
Recent headlines claim that smelling lemons can make you feel slimmer. Is there truth to this claim, or is it just a bunch of sour…lemons?
The original research examined how smell affects ‘body image perception’.1
In study one, 14 young adults (mostly men), were exposed to lemon and vanilla scents, and then asked to rate the perceived scent on a line, where a thin body silhouette anchored one side, and a thick body silhouette on the other.
When exposed to vanilla, participants rated more toward the thick body, about 0.65, on a 0 to 1 scale. When smelling lemon, they perceived the scent to be more toward the thin body image, with a mean score of 0.35.
It is from this result the headlines staked their claims — 0.3 units on a 0 to 1 scale of how participants visualized a scent, but participants did not rate their own bodies.
However, in study two, they did, and found little difference in how much they felt they weighed after smelling lemon or vanilla on a scale from ‘light' to ‘heavy’. There were also able to adjust the chest, waist and hips of a 3D body visualizer, after each scent, but no differences were found.
So, while this study was an admirable one, despite headline claims, smelling lemon is unlikely to have a meaningful effect on how slim you feel.
Sorry to end on such a sour note.
References
Dr. Faries has a Ph.D. in Behavioral Medicine and a Master of Science in Exercise Physiology, balanced with experience across the fitness industry, medicine, public health, research and extension.
His research explores why and how people initiate and maintain healthy behaviors, with focus on self-regulation success and failure. In other words, he seeks to better understand the common struggle with adopting healthy lifestyles, clarifying the reasons why we don’t “just do it.” Dr. Faries also holds unique expertise in medication adherence, when lifestyle is the medicine.
Dr. Faries also trains the next generation of ‘myth busters’ through medical and public health education, including his popular course, MythBusters: Health Edition.
Dr. Faries has served on the Board of Directors of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, is founder of Lone Star Lifestyle Medicine for Texas, and is founder of FitnessPudding.com – a non-profit site dedicated to debunking common health and fitness myths.