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A study has found that mice with an impaired sense of smell gain less weight than other mice, even when calorie consumption and exercise levels are the same:
To conduct the study, molecular biologist Andrew Dillin of the University of California, Berkeley, and colleagues turned to a variety of genetically altered mice. The scientists gave them regular doses of the diphtheria toxin—which causes a temporary loss of odor-sensing neurons—to suppress their sense of smell. They then fed the rodents either a normal diet or fatty foods—the mouse equivalent of cheesecake and pizza—that usually induce obesity.
After more than 3 months of noshing on regular chow, the odor-deprived rodents weighed slightly less than mice whose sense of smell was intact. In the group on the high-fat diet, however, the mice that couldn't smell weighed 16% less than animals that could [open, DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2017.06.015] [DX], which became obese. Losing the ability to smell also caused a different group of already-obese mice to lose weight, the researchers reveal today in Cell Metabolism. The obvious explanation for this effect—that mice with impaired olfaction were eating less—turned out to be wrong. There was no difference in the animals' food consumption. Nor were the slim rodents getting more exercise. They weren't moving around their cages more than their porky counterparts.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by looorg on Thursday July 06 2017, @04:01PM (4 children)
So it's the smell that is making people fat? Next diet fad will be that you should hold your nose as you eat so you don't absorb as many evil fat cells thru your nose. Totally backed up by some hard sciency facts now.
But overall I'm not sure if this is so surprising as taste and smell are very important. Easy test - hold your nose as you taste something and the perceived taste actually diminishes in strength, if you completely lose it then this is probably a permanent effect much more severe.
Secondly everything fried with fat smells lovely (imo), if you can't smell or taste anything then you might as well eat tasteless tofu or some kind of porridge sludge. So you'll lose weight. I guess the mouse experiment didn't show that but it would make sense.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 06 2017, @04:07PM
Whenever I walk through a restaurant I make sure to crop dust at least one table.
I'm doing my part.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 06 2017, @04:15PM (1 child)
> hold your nose as you eat
Came here to say the same thing.
New product idea for the diet industry -- nose plugs that filter out common food smells?
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday July 06 2017, @06:23PM
I feel like cloth-pegs for noses will become trendy. Nose plugs are, obviously, too less obvious to publicly display hipsters' commitment to health.
I can't wait a study showing that a 30mins daily dose of whipping results in weight loss. I never saw a public self-flagellation procession.
(oh, it will get weight loss results. No, I'm not going to see such an article, too little incentive for business. Unless... unless SM practices make their way in beauty salons)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 06 2017, @05:26PM
I see you've encountered my ex's meatloaf :-/