Psychologists at the University of Bourgogne in France say that smelling fruit smells can encourage healthy-diet decisions. They split 115 volunteers into two groups, informing them they would test how people communicated while they ate (tricksters!). One group waited in a room smelling of fresh-pear scent, the other waited in a waiting room smelling of room. Seventy-five percent of the control group selected a decadent-brownie-dessert option, while more than half of the group coming from fruit-fragrance room picked an apple-y option.
The scientists speculate that the smell of fruit could have registered in subjects’ subconscious, conveniently bubbling up to influence their food choices. The light fragrance of pear — a distant memory of childhood summers and salad days and joyful arbors — will be the angel on your shoulder, convincing you to select healthy options, or at least desserts that seem marginally more pear-oriented.
