Men, take note! Want to smell more attractive? Include more fruits and veggies in your diet

Image courtesy: Pixabay (Representational image)

New Delhi: What attracts women to men? Some say its the eyes, some women get wooed by their fragrance, while others go for personality and behaviour and then there are those for whom it's all in the looks.

But how about what they eat? A study conducted by researchers at Macquarie University in Australia found that men who are vegetarians are more attractive to their non-vegetarian counterparts, because of their different body odour.

The study establishes what previous researches have shown – the notion that scent and health are linked and play a significant role in how desirable someone appears.

As per a report in the Deccan Chronicle, lead author Dr Ian Stephan says that odour is an important part of judging someone’s attractiveness, more so for women.

The research team assessed the amount of vegetables a group of healthy young men were eating by assessing their skin colour. They used a spectrophotometer (which measures the intensity of light emitted by a substance) for the test.

People who eat more vegetables, it turns out, sees their skin take on the hue of the plant pigments responsible for colour.

According to the report, the male participants were asked to complete food frequency questionnaires to assess their overall eating patterns, following which each participant was given a clean shirt and asked to exercise.

Afterwards, female participants were given the shirts to sniff and subsequently rate the scent of based on a variety of factors.

They were given a list of 21 descriptors and asked to describe the shirts and say how attractive, strong or healthy they smelled.

It was found that men who consumed more fruits and veggies as a part of their diet were rated more with regard to smell, as compared to those who consumed more meat who were described as having a more intense smell, but not bad.

Men who consumed a lot of carbohydrates were though to produce the least attractive odours, Deccan Chronicle reported.