Single men are lazier than those in relationships. However, while pungent body odor (BO) and loneliness might seem to go hand-in-hand, study authors say that a strong smell can actually help men find a mate.
Women can smell men alone PHOTO The truth
Previous research has shown that single men tend to have higher testosterone levels than those in a relationship. Alone people smell differently, according to science. According to a new study, women can sniff out a man without a mate, writes iflscience.com. Research published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology suggests that the body odor of married men differs from that of single men.
It has also been suggested that testosterone may contribute to BO, indicating that single men may have a stronger odor.
To investigate, the researchers recruited 91 men, who were given a plain white T-shirt and instructed to wear it for a day. The 46 single and 45 partnered men were also advised to exercise moderately to ensure that “a significant amount of sweat was absorbed on the underarm of the jersey”.
After the T-shirts were collected, the women were asked to smell six different items of clothing and were also given a photo of the men in question.
“Consistent with our hypothesis, the BO of single men was rated as smelling stronger than the BO of partnered men“, write the authors of the study.
“We also found that faces of single men were rated as more masculine than faces of partnered men, but only among coupled women.“
It could help find the right partners
The researchers explained that smell could help women find suitable partners. “From an evolutionary perspective, it might be advantageous for females to detect the chemical signals that shape the couple and ultimately avoid courting male partners (especially with offspring) because of the relatively small resources they can provideand,” they said.
Although this study did not test the participants' testosterone levels, previous research has shown that single men tend to have higher testosterone levels than those in a relationship.
“We know from previous research that higher testosterone is linked to stronger body odor… Potentially single men have higher testosterone levels.“ say the authors of the study.
Unfortunately, however, strong BO does not necessarily increase a man's chances of finding love, as the smell of single men was not rated as sexier or more attractive than that of partnered men. Interestingly, women also described the faces of coupled men as more trustworthy and loyal than those of single men, although single women failed to see these qualities in either group.
