Wear Cotton Tracks While Exercising: Study

Dump your tracks made of polyester and switch to cotton clothes to prevent bad body odor, advises research.

Fancy exercise outfits made of polyester may look good but are not a healthy choice. A new research by the Ghent University in Belgium suggests people choose exercise gears made of cotton and natural fabrics as they are better in absorbing sweat and controlling body odor. Polyester are home to bacteria, which help in emanating foul sweaty smell.

 The experts examined T-shirts of 26 healthy participants after an hour of cycling and cardio exercises. These T-shirts were incubated for 28 hours and the researchers looked at the bacterial species thriving in the fabric.

Fresh sweat produced by the body has no smell as the long-chain fatty acids present in them are too big to react.  Bacteria break these chains, sulphur compounds and hormones into smelly molecules. The study found the bacteria called micrococci was responsible for emitting foul smell from the clothes.

"They are known for their enzymatic potential to transform long-chain fatty acids, hormones, and amino acids into smaller volatile compounds, which have a typical malodour. The micrococci are able to grow better on polyester," said Chris Callewaert, study author and researcher at the Ghent University, reports the Red Orbit News.
The authors add other forms of bacteria like Staphylococci that live in the skin as well as in the fabric produce normal and non-malodorous smell while the Corynebacteria that causes bad odor in armpits do not thrive on textiles.

"BO is taboo, and its prevalence is greatly underestimated. There is little these people can do to help themselves. Some of them are too psychologically distressed to talk to strangers, or even to leave the house, afraid of what people might think of their smell," he adds.

The trial urges people to use natural fabric than synthetic and man-made fabrics to alleviate the severity of sweating and unpleasant odor while exercising. Usage of deodorants and antiperspirants can further trigger the problem.

More information is available online in the journal of Applied and Environmental Microbiology.