Clinical trial NCT06662149: Exploring the Influence of Sensory Cues on Eating Behavior Using Virtual Reality
Official title: Dining Out in NYC: Using VR to Investigate the Influence of Multisensory Urban Design Factors on Eating Behavior in Emerging Adults
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: Healthy
Keywords: Virtual Reality
Eating behavior
Lead sponsor: Penn State University
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2024-10-28
Enrollment: 25
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 29
Standard ages: ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: CROSSOVER
Primary purpose: OTHER

Brief summary: Many factors influence eating choices among humans (mood, taste, convenience, time of day, etc.). Finding simple ways to decrease food intake or improve food choices could improve weight status and overall health of the general population. The purpose of this study is to see if city and/or nature smells affect human eating behavior within a virtual reality-simulated outdoor café. The researchers of this study believe that a better understanding of how smells affect eating behavior could lead to public guidelines that direct the construction and layout of such outdoor eating environments to better support healthy behaviors.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Between the ages of 18-29
* Fluent in English
* Free of self-reported food allergies/food sensitivities
* No diagnosis of cognitive or physical disabilities/disorders that may affect appetite or eating behaviors (Examples include Major Depressive Disorder, dementia, or eating disorders)
* No diagnosis of disabilities that may affect sensory proprioception related to virtual reality (Examples include vertigo, epilepsy, and ataxia)
* Not color blind
* Does not experience anosmia (inability or weak ability to smell)
* Must have hair ≥3 cm in length at the cortisol sample site (roughly midline of the skull left to right and two inches up from the base of the hairline at the neck).
* No hair transplant in the last 6 months

Exclusion Criteria:

* Are younger than 18 or older than 29 years of age
* Not fluent in English
* Have self-reported food allergies
* Have a diagnosis of cognitive or physical disabilities that may affect appetite or eating behaviors (Examples include Major Depressive Disorder, dementia, or eating disorders)
* Have a diagnosis of disabilities that may affect sensory proprioception related to virtual reality (Examples include vertigo, epilepsy, and ataxia)
* Suffers from color blindness
* Suffers from anosmia (inability or weak ability to smell)
* Hair shorter than 3 cm in length at the cortisol sample site (roughly midline of the skull left to right and two inches up from the base of the hairline at the neck)
* Has had a hair transplant in the last 6 months

Primary outcomes:
measure: Food Intake Day 1
timeFrame: Measured once 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption
measure: Food Intake Day 2
timeFrame: Measured 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption
measure: Scent Experience Questionnaire (SEQ) Baseline Visit 1
timeFrame: Measured 5-10 minutes prior to entering VR environment at Visit 1
measure: Scent Experience Questionnaire (SEQ) Baseline Visit 2
timeFrame: Measured 5-10 minutes prior to entering VR environment at Visit 2
measure: Scent Experience Questionnaire (SEQ) Post-VR Visit 1
timeFrame: Measured 1-5 minutes after entering VR environment at Visit 1
measure: Scent Experience Questionnaire (SEQ) Post-VR Visit 2
timeFrame: Measured 1-5 minutes after entering VR environment at Visit 2
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance (PAD) Survey Baseline Visit 1
timeFrame: Measured 5-10 minutes prior to entering VR environment at Visit 1
measure: Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance (PAD) Survey Baseline Visit 2
timeFrame: Measured 5-10 minutes prior to entering VR environment at Visit 2
measure: Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance (PAD) Survey Post VR Visit 1
timeFrame: Measured 1-5 minutes after entering VR environment at Visit 1
measure: Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance (PAD) Survey Post VR Visit 2
timeFrame: Measured 1-5 minutes after entering VR environment at Visit 2
measure: Positive Affect Negative Affect Survey (PANAS) Baseline Visit 1
timeFrame: Measured 5-10 minutes prior to entering VR environment at Visit 1
measure: Positive Affect Negative Affect Survey (PANAS) Baseline Visit 2
timeFrame: Measured 5-10 minutes prior to entering VR environment at Visit 2
measure: Positive Affect Negative Affect Survey (PANAS) Post-VR Visit 1
timeFrame: Measured 1-5 minutes after entering VR environment at Visit 1
measure: Positive Affect Negative Affect Survey (PANAS) Post-VR Visit 2
timeFrame: Measured 1-5 minutes after entering VR environment at Visit 2
measure: State Anxiety Inventory (SAI) Baseline Visit 1
timeFrame: Measured 5-10 minutes prior to entering VR environment at Visit 1
measure: State Anxiety Inventory (SAI) Baseline Visit 2
timeFrame: Measured 5-10 minutes prior to entering VR environment at Visit 2
measure: State Anxiety Inventory (SAI) Post-VR Visit 1
timeFrame: Measured 1-5 minutes after entering VR environment at Visit 1
measure: State Anxiety Inventory (SAI) Post-VR Visit 2
timeFrame: Measured 1-5 minutes after entering VR environment at Visit 2
measure: Affect and Spatial Experience Scale (ASE)
timeFrame: Measured 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption and VR experience at visit 1
measure: VR Presence Questionnaire Visit 1
timeFrame: Measured once 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption and the VR experience at visit 1
measure: VR Presence Questionnaire Visit 2
timeFrame: Measured once 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption and the VR experience at visit 2
measure: VR Preference Questionnaire Visit 1
timeFrame: Measured once 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption and the VR experience at visit 1
measure: VR Preference Questionnaire Visit 2
timeFrame: Measured once 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption and the VR experience at visit 2
measure: Hair Cortisol
timeFrame: Measured once 15 minutes prior to entering VR environment at Visit 1
Other outcomes:
measure: Reasons Individuals Stop Eating Questionnaire
timeFrame: Measured once 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption and the VR experience at visit 2
measure: Adult Eating Behavior Questionnaire
timeFrame: Measured once 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption and the VR experience at visit 2
measure: External Cue Reactivity Questionnaire
timeFrame: Measured once 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption and the VR experience at visit 2
measure: Three Factor Eating Questionnaire
timeFrame: Measured once 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption and the VR experience at visit 2
measure: Engagement Questionnaire
timeFrame: Measured once 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption and the VR experience at visit 2
measure: Visual Analog Scale of Hunger and Thirst Baseline Visit 1
timeFrame: Measured 5-10 minutes prior to entering VR environment at Visit 1
measure: Visual Analog Scale of Hunger and Thirst Baseline Visit 2
timeFrame: Measured 5-10 minutes prior to entering VR environment at Visit 2
measure: Visual Analog Scale of Hunger and Thirst Post Visit 2
timeFrame: Measured 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption and VR experience at Visit 2
measure: Visual Analog Scale of Hunger and Thirst Post Visit 1
timeFrame: Measured 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption and VR experience at Visit 1
Locations:
city: State College
country: United States
facility: Health, Ingestive Behavior, and Technology Laboratory of Pennsylvania State University
state: Pennsylvania
Study officials:
affiliation: The Pennsylvania State University
name: Travis Masterson
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: