Hot and cold rooms change what kinds of food you crave, but they don’t make you worse at tasting or smelling food.
Scientific Claim
Thermal exposure at 16°C and 32°C significantly alters implicit wanting and explicit liking for food temperature and fat content, but does not affect olfactory or gustatory sensitivity in healthy young men.
Original Statement
“Olfactory and gustatory capacities were not affected by temperature (online Supplementary File 3).”
Evidence Quality Assessment
Claim Status
appropriately stated
Study Design Support
Design supports claim
Appropriate Language Strength
definitive
Can make definitive causal claims
Assessment Explanation
The null result is supported by direct measurement using validated tools. The claim accurately reflects the absence of effect without overstatement.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
Twenty four-hour passive heat and cold exposures did not modify energy intake and appetite but strongly modify food reward
When it was cold or hot, people wanted different kinds of food—like hot food when it was cold and cold food when it was hot—but their ability to smell or taste didn’t change, and the study didn’t test that part, so it doesn’t contradict the claim.