Have you ever smelled the delicious aroma of something cooking in the kitchen and felt like you’d already eaten a great meal without a bite? It turns out that smelling food doesn’t just make us hungry; it might actually do the opposite.

A study conducted by the Max Planck Institute found that when mice reacted to food, their nerve cells responded, creating a sense of ‘fullness’, so when these cells were lit up, the mice ate less. However, when the researchers tested obese mice, they found that these nerve cells didn’t respond, meaning the scent of food had no effect on their appetite, and unlike the lean mice, they didn’t eat less.

While it’s hard to know if this would be exactly the same in humans, we have the same neural pathways (nerve cells) as mice. The researchers note that previous research has shown that food odours can reduce an appetite before a meal.

They also believe that their recent findings could be a significant breakthrough in preventing overeating and reducing obesity.

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References:

Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing. “The hunger switch in your nose: How smells tell your brain to stop eating.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 12 June 2025. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250612031553.htm>.