Recent study revealed that women have higher sensitivity towards body odour as compared to men. Research statement indicated that women may be more attuned to biologically relevant information in sweat that may guide them when choosing a mate.

During study, women and men were asked to rate the strength of underarm odours, alone and in combination with various fragrances.

Lead researcher Dr Charles Wysocki, a behavioural neuroscientist, said: "The fragrances were selected to test their ability to block underarm odour through a method known as cross-adaptation. Olfactory (smell) adaptation refers to the loss of sensitivity to an odour when one is constantly exposed it. Olfactory cross-adaptation occurs when the nose adapts to one odour and becomes less sensitive to a second one."

Researchers found that both men and women sniffed the underarm odours equally when it was given alone. When fragrance was added women were still able to smell odour in 30 out of 32 cases whereas in men 19 fragrances reduced the strength of underarm odour.

Wysocki added: "Not only were women better smellers the men, but male odours were harder to block than female odours.Taken together, our studies indicate that human sweat conveys information that is of particular importance to females. This may explain why it is so difficult to block women's perception of sweat odours."