{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T13:49:08Z","timestamp":1784123348654,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,9]],"date-time":"2026-07-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783555200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Physiol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Olfactory stimuli may alter appetite, affective responses, and exercise performance through psychobiological processes. However, whether odor-induced changes in appetite and pleasantness translate into measurable improvements in resistance exercise performance remains unclear. This exploratory study investigated whether exposure to chocolate-related odors alters appetite perception, odor pleasantness, and resistance exercise capacity in moderately trained men.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Twenty-three participants completed a randomized, double-blind, crossover trial with three odor conditions presented as freshly prepared liquid stimuli: 90% dark chocolate, 60% milk chocolate, and a water-based control. Appetite perception and odor pleasantness were assessed using 100-mm visual analog scales, and perceived exertion was assessed using the Borg CR10 scale. Ratings were obtained at baseline and after odor exposure. Participants then performed repeated 10-repetition leg-extension sets at 80% of 10RM to volitional exhaustion with 3.5-min rest intervals. Odors were presented before each set, followed by assessments of appetite, pleasantness, and ratings of perceived exertion.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Condition significantly affected total repetitions (Wald\n                      <jats:italic>\u03c7<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00b2(2) = 71.15,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &amp;lt; 0.01) and total sets (Wald\n                      <jats:italic>\u03c7<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00b2(2) = 21.27,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &amp;lt; 0.01). Total repetitions were greater with 90% dark chocolate than with control (+18, 95% CI 13.8 to 22.1,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &amp;lt; 0.01) and greater with 60% milk chocolate than with control (+9,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &amp;lt; 0.01). Ratings of perceived exertion increased across sets (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &amp;lt; 0.01) but did not differ between conditions. Before exercise, 90% dark chocolate reduced appetite-related ratings, whereas 60% milk chocolate increased odor pleasantness.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>These findings indicate that chocolate-related odors can modulate appetite and hedonic responses while increasing resistance-exercise volume, without clear increases in post-set perceived exertion. Chocolate-related odors may offer a non-nutritive approach to support fasted resistance exercise, although further work is needed to confirm the mechanisms and generalizability of these effects.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fphys.2026.1834757","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,9]],"date-time":"2026-07-09T04:23:17Z","timestamp":1783570997000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Chocolate odor enhances resistance exercise performance through appetite suppression in the fasted state: an exploratory study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Xiaohan","family":"Fan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Sports and Exercise Science, University of Malaya","place":["Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hengzhi","family":"Deng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Sports and Exercise Science, University of Malaya","place":["Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jia Yang","family":"Ng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Sports and Exercise Science, University of Malaya","place":["Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ahmad Amirul Hazim bin","family":"Ab Aziz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Sports and Exercise Science, University of Malaya","place":["Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mohamed Nashrudin bin","family":"Naharudin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Sports and Exercise Science, University of Malaya","place":["Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"143","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cct.2003.10.016","article-title":"Assessment of blinding in clinical trials","volume":"25","author":"Bang","year":"2004","journal-title":"Control. 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