September 2018 PMID 30209229

The scent of attractiveness: levels of reproductive hormones explain individual differences in women's body odour.

Janek S Lobmaier, Urs Fischbacher, Urs Wirthmüller, Daria Knoch

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Mentions

Peak: 6 in Jan 2019

across 5 sources since Jan 2019

Extended reach

1,054,888

potential audience

Total likes

27,735

Video views

952,560

Mentions per month

Jan 2019 – Oct 2025

Where it's discussed

News40 articles
X / Twitter30 posts
Blogs5 articles
Facebook3 posts
YouTube2 videos

AI synopsis

What people are saying

Several comments express curiosity about how body odor relates to fertility, with phrases like 'scientifically supported' and questions about scent attractiveness. The tone is generally inquisitive and appreciative of scientific research, with some posts sharing personal observations or related studies, which indicates a moderate level of engagement and interest in understanding the biological basis of attraction.

AgreementModerate agreement

Most discussions acknowledge the scientific findings linking reproductive hormones to body odor attractiveness, reflected in comments like 'There’s some science about it' and 'scientifically supported,' indicating general agreement or recognition of the r

InterestHigh interest

Participants show high curiosity about the topic, evidenced by questions such as 'do some women smell more attractive?' and references to related studies, demonstrating engagement with the subject of fertility and scent.

EngagementModerate engagement

The posts include references to specific research details and implications for daily life, like microbe interactions and hormone effects, but mostly remain at a surface or informative level without deep critical analysis.

ImpactModerate impact

While the discussion brings scientific insights into common perceptions of attractiveness, the tone suggests a moderate impact, highlighting relevance but not implying transformative societal change.

Abstract in brief

The study investigated whether women's body odour attractiveness varies due to individual differences or personal preferences, and whether it reflects reproductive fitness.
Men rated the body odours of 28 women, and attractiveness was linked to the women’s levels of reproductive hormones, specifically higher oestradiol and lower progesterone.
These findings suggest that women's body odour serves as a chemosensory marker of fertility, influenced by reproductive hormone levels rather than other hormones like cortisol or testosterone.]

Read the full abstract

All mentions

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Venthan Mailoo

@VenthanMailoo · X

@rodehard55 @heatherpiperxo Sadly, #CosmeticSurgery, #botox and filters do nothing for #fertility, scent or flavour. https://t.co/wuVoRahD0C https://t.co/JJh8uUSUNt

Oct 6, 2025 · 458 followers View post →

Surina

@Surina0047 · X

@DocDeezWhat @NancyMace Btw clown If you want some science plenty of it about Here’s some https://t.co/HmsGNoWFwx

Jun 29, 2025 · 1,667 followers View post →

Male Reality Calculator

@RealityCalc · X

Researchers found that the higher a woman’s levels of oestradiol and the lower her levels of progesterone (signaling higher fertility), the more attractive her body odor is to men. https://t.co/Zjc9X0zjBK

Aug 13, 2024 · 74 followers View post →

Piotr Rieske

@rieske_piotr · X

Żeby nie było, że facecie są kompletnie niewrażliwi... https://t.co/TJGaacdrgg https://t.co/0QEiwi966T

Aug 6, 2024 · 2,489 followers View post →

Mihajlo Blagojevic

@MihajloBlagoje9 · X

@situp85275789 @WhyDoI_Care @ykkswb Pheromones change is scientifically supported though the more fertile the woman is the more attractive their pheromones will be to men likewise woman’s keen sense of smell plays a similar role. https://t.co/jIJPgMjszj https://t.co/fk0J08lEcM https://t.co/o6Un8lEdyU

Jul 30, 2024 · 59 followers View post →

Musician1980

@Musician1980 · X

@jenniferhenkeHB @majavonwestphal @LissysFrauchen Hatte "Aktivität" gelesen. Gibt zwar Studien,die einen Zshg. von z.B. Östrogen und Attraktivität in der Tat untersuchen (z.B. https://t.co/KvqeQ6ybvc),ist aber mMn ein wenig relevanter Faktor und bedeutet nicht, dass Frauen ohne Eierstöcke/nach Menopause nicht mehr attraktiv sind

Feb 14, 2024 · 6,213 followers View post →

the cass ✨

@cassesque · X

@notCursedE I was wrong- we do know which hormones! Here's two graphs of attractiveness against blood oestradiol and progesterone concentration. https://t.co/3UjyWBJTCn https://t.co/Hgc28RRw31

May 17, 2023 · 2 likes · 5,154 followers View post →

IRIONORA BRAINROT

@BirbWithASword · X

@Kiwi_Jx_Art @neutrino78x @zukosmadre Couldn't find the original report I remember, but I found another study here that looked at the attraction level of women solely based on their scent during "fertile" days of their cycle, so the men participating in this study didn't even see them: https://t.co/xGofqmbhcr

Mar 13, 2023 · 203 followers View post →

J0hnn7

@J0hnn71 · X

https://t.co/KznUKNNTF2

Feb 25, 2023 View post →