London:A new research by German psychologists has revealed that macho men have a different type of body odour to others. It is believed that the phenomenon helps women sniff out alpha males, in the belief they will provide them with healthy kids.The scented signal may also provide wimps with a subtle warning that there is a superior male nearby who is not to be messed with. For the study, the researchers from Heinrich-Heine-University Dusseldorf examined the link between a man’s sweat and his level of aggression, which is critical to the survival of a species, reports the Daily Mail.
They attached cotton armpit pads to badminton players during an important tournament and did the same to a group of men running non-competitively. Women volunteers said the smell of both sweat samples was ‘mildly unpleasant’.
However, sophisticated tests on the womens’ skin found they were more aroused by the badminton players’ sweat, with anxious women the most sensitive. The researchers said exactly what makes the smell of competitive men more attractive is unknown. But hormones and increased testosterone levels during ‘dominant behaviour’ are thought to play a role.Source
