What causes body odor? - Mel Rosenberg

Most of us don’t need more than one whiff to identify that generally unpleasant, characteristic smell we call body odor. But it’s a surprisingly complex phenomenon, influenced by our genetic makeup, age, diet, and hygiene. So what is this odor, exactly? Where does it come from? And can we do anything about it? Mel Rosenberg dives into the stinky science of body odor.

Lesson by Mel Rosenberg, animation by Els Decaluwe.

Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! maxi kobi einy, Runarm , Misaki Sato, Levi Cook, Catherine Sverko, Robert Sukosd, Mark Morris, Tamás Drávai, Peter Liu, Leora Allen, Michal Salman, Julie Cummings-Debrot, Gilly , Ka-Hei Law, Aleksandar Srbinovski, Renhe Ji, Andrés Melo Gámez, Tim Leistikow, Moonlight , Megan Douglas, Barbara Smalley, Filip Dabrowski, Joe Giamartino, Clair Chen, Karen Goepen-Wee, Bryan Blankenburg, Bah Becerra, Stephanie Perozo, Marc Bilodeau, Ruby Solorzano, Ivan Tsenov, Claudia Mayfield, Justus Berberich, Pavel Zalevskiy, Yankai Liu, Duo Xu, Ghassan Alhazzaa, Miloš Stevanović, Narat Suchartsunthorn, Joy Love Om, Gi Nam Lee, Shawn Quichocho, Simone Kidner, Barun Padhy, Brandy Jones, Devin Harris, Tony Trapuzzano, Stephen Michael Alvarez, Juliana , Jason Weinstein, Kris Siverhus, Annamaria Szilagyi, and Morgan Williams.

[TEDEd]

Help us keep exploring these questions and many more by supporting our nonprofit mission on Patreon! Find out how you can get involved at patreon.com/teded. Thanks, everyone!

[halliloyamaboki]

"eating effects the way you smell"
*eats flowers aggressively*

[uplan]

It's virtually impossible to send this video to anyone without having to fear that they could misunderstand it...

[justinemadigan]

East Asians with that "no body odor" gene are so lucky!

[hughnguyen]

stranger: "hello, can you...."
Me: "talk to my armpit"

[durpddurke]

So basically a bunch of bacteria are having parties in our armpits while getting drunk on our sweat

[halo]

My armpit bacteria can't be this cute.

[aeroship]

In my case, my foot and armpits used to smell terrible when I first experienced puberty. However, I noticed that it eventually disappeared when I started taking care of my body such as taking a bath 1-2 times a day. I never used deodorants or any other chemicals that nullifies armpit odors so I really have no idea why the smell suddenly disappeared.

But whatever the reason my foot and armpit doesn't smell, I am grateful for it. I mean I live in the Philippines and i am very much convinced that we only have two seasons; summer and summer premium. Scorching heat from the sun is a daily occurrence, making people here susceptible to excessive sweating everyday. I can't imagine the struggle of those who live in environments like this and suffer from terrible body odor at the same time no matter how much they take care of themselves.

[bobcorrigan]

My oldest son, at about 13 years old, developed a bad case of BO. I spoke with a doctor friend of mine and he informed me that the most effective method for eliminating BO, for most people, was to shave, and keep shaved the underarms and the private parts. I passed this on to my son and he followed the advice. After he did this, about 90% of the body odor disappeared. And he started showering twice a day, and the problem was solved. He has maintained this practice and is now 37.
The thing was, he didn't know he had BO, but others did. This happened in the summer time and I was glad that the issue was resolved before school started up again. If you know someone who has this problem, chances are they don't know it choose to ignore it, which doesn't help them or their standing. You must get with the individual and in some way, bring it up gently. You need to approach it as something they have, not something they do. It is not someone's fault if they have BO, but they need to know. I approached my son by starting off talking about how some people have physical problems, like crooked teeth or acne. I asked him if somebody had crooked teeth, was it the fault of the person? He said of course not. And then I said if somebody had crooked teeth, but didn't know they had crooked teeth, shouldn't somebody tell them? He agreed. And I asked him if someone could tell the person with crooked teeth how to get his teeth straightened, shouldn't they pass on that information? He agreed. I asked him would the person with crooked teeth rather know about the crooked teeth and how to fix the crooked teeth or not know? You see where this was heading. My point was my son never resented me for not only letting him know, he also appreciated that I was able to offer a solution. He was glad that I brought this to his attention. If you know someone who has this problem, please talk to them about it, in a kind way.

[jeffdragonball]

One thousand years ago, the Chinese literally called armpit odor as barbarian stench and thought it might be some kind of infectious disease.

[JtheKproduction]

I'm Asian. I once had a white roommate. Great guy, he was awesome. But it was my first time living with non-asian and I did not know how severe this can be. Needless to say, the smell of him changed my view on life. I don't know if I can live with non-asians again.. LOL.
Edit: I'm referring to East Asia.

[phil]

Yes the last part is true. I smelled my father clothes when I was younger and it didn't really smell bad entirely it was like my brain identified it as his unique smell. My brain actually was attached to it

[TheAstralBlue]

It’s always so scary and I always feel ashamed if my body odor is really bad bc a lot of people can make fun of you bc of your body odor.

[OhMyGabbyyyy]

Fun fact: The mutated gene (ABCC11 gene) that eliminates body odour, commonly found in East Asians, is also associated with how wet or dry their earwax is. People with the mutated gene most probably have dry earwax, meaning that those with wet earwax most probably produce body odour.

[dibae]

I always take shower 2 times a day and use deodorant and eat healthy food. But why do i have smelly armpits?? It gives me stress for years and everyday i confront people with this fear that they would say things like "whats this smell" "it stinks", ....

[Miliimoggss]

It's a very shy moment when you smell worse while in class(mostly in case if you're an high school student) you will understand what and how the other buddies makes us shame by taking advantage on these things which we have no control over😭

[beawife]

My mom is telling me my armpits are stinky but im literally going through puberty and im crying right now :(

[mrsmell]

Everyone gangster until they forget their deodorant while in school

[IM]

I am Asian and can confirm that we don't make that kind of smell.
I was astounded when I first smelled body odor. It was in high school when I moved to the States. I had no idea that humans were capable of producing that kind of stench.

[iAndy]

I have to admit I was shocked the first time I went to Europe because of the smell people have during summer. I am from South America (Colombia), People here have body odor but the use of deodorant and antiperspirant is an everyday thing for us to use. It is not common to feel those smells in the people surrounding us. I suppose the Diet and the difference between cultures have an impact on it.