Macho men emit body odour that arouses women

London (IANS) - Macho men emit a unique body odour that most women find arousing.

The phenomenon helps women sniff out alpha males, who are believed to provide them with healthy offsprings. The scented signal seems to warn wimps subtly that there is a superior male around who is not to be trifled with, the Daily Mail said in a report.

German psychologists who made the discovery examined the link between a man's sweat and his aggression level which is critical to the survival of a species.

They attached cotton armpit pads to badminton players during an important tournament and did the same to a group of men running non-competitively.

Women volunteers described the smell of both sweat samples as "mildly unpleasant". However sophisticated tests on the womens' skin found they were more aroused by the badminton players' sweat - with anxious women being the most sensitive.

Researchers from Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf in Germany said it was not exactly known what makes these smells more attractive.

But hormones and increased testosterone levels during 'dominant behaviour' are thought to play a role.