Can you imagine the aroma of fresh popcorn, baking cookies, or even non-food odors? If you can, it's more likely that you weigh more, a new study finds.

While all of us can imagine the view of a favorite spot or song, this is not the case with imaging odors. People vary greatly in their ability to imagine the smell of baked bread or the scent of a bouquet of roses.

A Yale University School of Medicine research team gave 25 participants a series three questionnaires that asked them to imagine both visual and odor cues and then to subsequently rate the vividness of these cues. The researchers found that individuals with a higher body mass index (BMI) reported greater perceived ability to image food and non-food odors.  A second experiment using 57 participants confirmed the finding.

The ability to imagine odors is key to stimulating food cravings, which can be induced by the thought, smell and sight of food. Although previous research had demonstrated that these cravings occur more often in obese individuals, this ability and the link with weight had never been demonstrated prior to this study, the researchers said.

They hope their study, which appears in Appetite, will help highlight the need for more individualized approaches to weight loss.