Olfaction and Disordered Eating

There are compelling reasons to suspect that individuals who exhibit disordered eating also experience associated deficits in olfaction. These include the integral role of the chemosensory experience in eating and the observation that many other psychological disorders have been linked to deficits in olfaction. However, despite this apparent link, empirical studies examining olfactory functioning in eating disordered individuals have produced mixed findings. This chapter reviews the inconsistent findings regarding disordered eating and olfaction, exploring which elements of methodological heterogeneity produces differing effects. Specifically, the chapter discusses the different measures of olfaction, the different eating disorders tested, and the characteristics of patients being tested (e.g. age, duration of illness, severity of illness). These methodological variations contribute to the wide-ranging findings, and recommendations are made for future studies in order to isolate the specific conditions under which olfactory impairments are found.