Studies show that single men give off a smellier body odor (BO) than those in committed relationships, and it turns out the stench may signal their solo status to women.
Photo Credit: Pexels
In the experiment, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, 91 men (46 single and 45 partnered) were each given a plain white T-shirt and asked to perform enough moderate exercise that “a significant amount of sweat was absorbed onto the underarm of the T-shirt.”
Researchers then collected the soiled tops and asked 82 heteros*xual women to sniff them.
Each woman was given six T-shirts along with a photograph of the wearer.
“Consistent with our hypothesis, single men’s BO was rated as smelling stronger than the BO of partnered men,” wrote the study authors.
Photo Credit: Pixabay
But why? There are a couple of dominant theories.
Previous research has shown single men to have a higher level of testosterone than their “off the market” counterparts. It’s believed that lower testosterone levels help bond relationships, which could explain why males without a significant other have more of the s*x hormone. Testosterone contributes to BO, which indicates that bachelors are smellier.
A more common-sense explanation for high BO aroma among single men is they may be less hygienic because they don’t have a romantic partner.
While the experiment suggests there are evolutionary advantages for the phenomenon – women who detect these chemo signals can avoid mating with partnered males – it doesn’t necessarily correlate to these men finding love. In the end, these reeky men will likely have to find a relationship the old-fashioned way – endless internet dating.
