What Causes Body Odor and Why Some People Get It Worse Than Others?

Everybody at one point in their live has dealt with body odor, either having it themselves or being close to someone who has had it. Most people, even if they don’t get body odor often will still just use some sort of antiperspirant or deodorant as a daily routine. I personally have been showering every morning and using deodorant since I was 13 and never had a problem, however that isn’t always the case. Some people who may do all of that still might have body odor and it doesn’t mean they are dirty, they might just be genetically disposed to it. I want to go over how body odor occurs and what makes some people more vulnerable than others.

So the basic cause of body odor is the result of the apocrine gland, glands found in the skin all over the human body , most numerous in the arm pits and groin area, breaking down proteins with bacteria into acids. Because they are scent glands, an odor is created when the process of breaking down the protein takes place and body odor is emitted. While sweating does speed up the process, someone doesn’t have to necessarily sweat in order to get body odor.

There are a large amount of factors when looking into how powerful the smell is. Some medical diseases like diabetes might increase the smell or the consumption of spicy foods or simply just being overweight and having excess sweating. The amount of bacteria that someone has and the amount of proteins that are broken down play the most important role. Some people might be genetically disposed to having large amount of bacteria in their glands which ultimately makes them easier to have body odor.

Depending on your family background you are more likely to have larger amounts of bacteria and a harder time controlling body odor. For example people from Asians tend to have a very small amount of bacteria, which is why many don’t even wear deodorant. While those from Indian and African heritages often have a larger amount of bacteria and have to take more care in choosing the right type of hygienic products. Caucasians can differ vastly from where their ancestry is , but on average fall in the middle of the scale.

It also should be noted that different cultures have very different ways of treating or even embracing body odor. In many cultures the smell is not considered disgusting, but rather an extension of ones being and in some cases their sexuality. Because the smell is connected with pheromones, some people who might like the smell of their significant other’s body odor might even see it as a turn on. Our smells depending on the person can be very different and people trained to smell out different body odors can identify people based on their scent. This is a very strange concept, but this is exactly what dogs do to identify people and other animals.

So perhaps even if you are struggling with body odor it isn’t a bad thing, someone might find your smell attractive and you can chemically attract a mate! I hope this article was somewhat educational and might have disproved some thoughts or misconceptions you had about body odor. I actually wrote this article after a friend asked me what caused it and I wanted to find out.

-Calaber24p