LONDON: A simple whiff of chocolate before hitting the gym may do more than satisfy cravings. A new study suggests that smelling chocolate before and during resistance exercise could help people perform more repetitions without making the workout feel any harder.
The findings, published in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Physiology, showed that exposure to the aroma of dark or milk chocolate was associated with improved resistance exercise performance among young men.
However, researchers stressed that the study was exploratory and involved a small sample, meaning the results should be interpreted with caution.
The study included 23 healthy men in their early to mid-20s who had moderate experience with resistance training. After fasting for at least 10 hours, participants were randomly assigned to smell either liquefied 90% dark chocolate, 60% milk chocolate or odorless water before and during a leg extension exercise.
Researchers monitored participants’ hunger, fullness, desire to eat and perceived effort throughout the experiment while recording the number of repetitions completed during the workout.
The results showed that participants exposed to chocolate aromas completed more repetitions than those in the control group. Those who smelled dark chocolate performed an average of 18 additional leg extensions, while participants exposed to milk chocolate completed about nine more repetitions. Importantly, both groups reported similar levels of perceived effort despite the increase in exercise volume.
The study also found that dark chocolate aroma appeared to suppress appetite. Participants who smelled dark chocolate reported feeling less hungry, had a lower desire to eat and experienced greater feelings of fullness before exercising. Although milk chocolate was considered the more pleasant scent, it did not produce significant changes in appetite.
Senior researcher Dr. Mohamed Nashrudin bin Naharudin said the findings suggest that familiar food aromas may influence physical performance through psychological associations.
He explained that the smell of dark chocolate may signal satiety to the brain, while pleasant aromas may help create a more positive exercise experience that encourages improved performance.
Despite the promising results, researchers cautioned that the exact biological mechanism remains unknown. The study did not investigate hormone levels, brain activity or digestive responses, making it difficult to determine precisely how chocolate aromas influenced exercise performance.
The researchers also highlighted several limitations, including the small sample size and the fact that only moderately trained young men participated in the experiment.
They added that the intensity of the chocolate aromas may not have been identical, while the odorless water used as the control condition could have made it easier for participants to recognise they were in the comparison group.
The authors said larger studies involving women, older adults and people with different fitness levels are needed before firm conclusions can be drawn. They also suggested that other familiar food aromas not just chocolate could potentially produce similar effects, although this remains to be investigated.
While the findings are preliminary, the study offers fresh insight into how sensory cues such as smell may influence both appetite and physical performance, opening the door for further research into the relationship between food aromas and exercise.
