Food neophobia and its relation with olfactory ability in common odour identification.

ABSTRACT

Food neophobia is strictly connected with many different aspects of human feeding, ranging from food preferences to food choice, from active chemosensory exploration of the world (sniffing and tasting) to physiological responses associated with alertness. Therefore in this study, we tested the ability of 167 participants (54 women and 113 men, aged between 20 and 59 years old) to correctly identify 36 common odours, and we verified whether such ability could be related to their level of neophobia toward food and to demographic parameters (i.e., age, gender, and smoking habits). In the analyses, an advantage in odour identification abilities for non-neophobic people over more-neophobic participants was observed. As for participants' demographic information, a smaller reluctance to try new food in older than younger people was highlighted. The results of the present study suggest a connection between the attitude toward the exploration of the chemosensory environment and the ability to identify odours.