There is a quote in Sanskrit that says that foods' smell partially fills you, not literally but it has that effect in our mind. A similar theory studied by the researchers revealed that smelling or hearing certain things can make us perceive our body to be thin or fat. It is like a stimulus that alters the perception of our body. Researchers at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) in Spain, the University of Sussex and University College London, UK discovered that olfactory stimuli combined with auditory stimuli change our perception of our body. The study was presented at the International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction in Cyprus. There the researchers revealed that the outcome of this study provides new knowledge in the field of cognitive neuroscience and human-computer interaction.
For example, people feel thinner when exposed to the smell of lemon and feel heavier and more corpulent when they smell vanilla. The researchers through a pair of device adapted to a pair of shoes analyzed how our perception of our body changes when the frequency spectrum of steps taken during physical activity was modified in real-time. The audio-stimulus influenced technology was successful in treating people with chronic pain in 2017 and to promote physical activity combined with olfactory stimuli research now. Tajadura-Jimenez, lecturer in Computer Science and Engineering Department at the UC3M, who is also one of the authors of the investigations explained,
By increasing high frequencies, people feel lighter, happier, walk in a more active way and as a result, they find it easier to exercise.
This can help people suffering from body image disorders and improve their self-esteem.
