Stench can help curb one's appetite according to a businesswoman who thought of a new diet aid - Stink Yourself Slim.

Alex Fontaine, 46 discovered that a foul stench curbed her appetite for chocolate. According to the Daily Mail, Fontaine's "eureka" moment came while she was at a function with a friend. Fontaine recounted that she and her pal were sitting outside but later went in to the venue. The two were reportedly hit by what Fontaine referred to as "a disgusting smell." She said that one of the dishes served gave off such an unpleasant odour that she and her pal "couldn't eat a morsel."

This gave Fontaine, a businesswoman from London, an idea. She said that it got her thinking that the stench was the first time anything had stopped her from touching her food.

Fontaine then started searching for evidence to support her theory that what people smell can affect their appetite. She found a wealth of information online, sources say. According to Fontaine's research, biologists have known for so long that there is a connection between a person's appetite and smell. Not having the appetite to eat anything because of smelling something stinky basically leads to weight loss.

Alex then started calling up fragrance companies in London to see if she can have them create a stinky perfume. She reportedly asked these companies to combine the smell of mothballs, sewage, and everything stinky that she could think of.

While getting her hands and nose on the different concoctions of stink she ordered, Fontaine reportedly "lost a stone and a half." She admitted that the weight loss was slow but added that she "felt lighter and better as a result."

Fontaine launched her product named "Stink Yourself Slim" last October but the question of many dieters is, would it work?

According to Cardiff University's School of Biosciences professor Tim Jacob, Fontaine's "principle is sound." The professor added that "70 to 80 per cent of the flavour, and therefore enjoyment, of food is down to smell."

The only problem, according to the professor, is that smell receptors become "immune" to certain odours in a very short time.