People who are heavy have a better sense of smell than others, a study by the University of Portsmouth said.

This is the first time that researchers have tried to find a link between Body Mass Index and the sense of smell when hungry and full, on 64 men and women between the ages of 18 to 49. They were first tested for their sensitivity to non-food smells, and then they were given a discrimination test between herb-related smells and odor blanks. People with higher BMI could smell the food better, but had an inferior sense of smell of non- food things.

“It could be speculated that for those with a propensity to gain weight, their higher sense of smell for food-related odors might actually play a more active role in food intake,” Psychologist Lorenzo Stafford, who conducted the study said.

“We have known for some time that the part of the brain that processes olfactory information is also connected to the feeding centers of the brain, but what is less clear is the extent to which it controls food intake,” he said.