Why toddlers smell like flowers and teenagers like goats
Two musky steroids, and higher levels of odorous acids, distinguish the body odours of adolescents and toddlers
A recent study has singled out two steriods which lead to a musky smell in teens while identifying another chemical which leads to toddlers smelling like flowers and soap.
The study was done on 36 children, half of them toodlers and half of them teenagers, by researchers at Friedrich-Alexander University in Germany.
Cotton pads were sown into the armpits of t-shirts of the children who were not allowed to use any perfumed products, reports media.
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The pads from the teenagers' armpits had two steroids present – 5alphaandrost-16-en-3-one and 5alphaandrost-16-en-3alpha-ol – which smell of sweat, urine, musk and sandalwood. They also had higher levels of six carboxylic acids, which give off unattractive smells including the likes of cheese, goat and wax.
Babies' samples showed higher levels of the ketone alpha-isomethyl ionone, which smells of flowers and soap, with a hint of violet.
The hormonal changes that occur during puberty are associated with an increase in body odour, linked to the activation of sweat glands and the secretion of sebum. The chemical compounds in sweat easily turn into gas, which is then perceived as a smell.
Researchers at Erlangen-Nürnberg's Aroma and Smell Research Facility said changing body odour in development was known to affect the interaction between parents and children. "Body odours of infants are pleasant and rewarding to mothers and, as such, probably facilitate parental affection," they wrote.
"In contrast, body odours of pubertal children are rated as less pleasant and parents are unable to identify their own child during this developmental stage."
