Clinical trial NCT05169996: Virtual Reality Effects on Food Intake Game to Decrease Food Intake
Official title: Development and Evaluation of a Virtual Reality Puzzle Game to Decrease Food Intake
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Food Intake
Keywords: virtual reality
pre-exposure
food cravings
Lead sponsor: Tilburg University
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2021-12-27
Enrollment: 202
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 30
Standard ages: ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: In a 2 (game: real vs virtual) x 2 (product: food vs non-food) between-subjects design lab experiment, the effectiveness of pre-exposure to food in a VR game is tested. A fifth condition was added ("VR x branded food") in order to examine brand effects.
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: Aims:

* The first aim was to replicate the pre-exposure effect. This was done by assessing the effect of exposing participants to a puzzle game with real foods compared to real nonfoods on food intake.
* The second aim was to investigate the potential of VR for eliciting the pre-exposure effect. This was done by comparing the effect of a VR puzzle game with foods to a VR puzzle game with nonfoods on food intake.
* The third aim was to assess the effect of branding in VR on brand responses and the role of emotional responses herein. This was done by comparing a branded virtual puzzle game with foods with a (non-branded) virtual puzzle game with foods.

Study design: a randomized 2 (game: real vs virtual) x 2 (product: food vs non-food) between-subjects design lab experiment, the effectiveness of pre-exposure to food in a VR game is tested. A fifth condition was added ("VR x branded food") in order to examine brand effects.

Detailed description: Aim: Every day, people are exposed to a wide variety of tasty foods, which is thought to be the leading cause of overeating. However, subsequent intake is believed to decrease when individuals engage with foods outside an eating context in an unrelated task-this is called the pre-exposure effect. Thus far, this effect has only been found when tempting foods are physically present. The current study aims to examine whether the effect also occurs when hyper-realistic food is present in VR.

Virtual reality (VR) provides the ultimate level of immersion, creating a sense of physical presence in the three-dimensional virtual environment. Therefore, VR has a major potential for implementation of the pre-exposure effect in an intervention and to assess the underlying psychological mechanisms. The level of immersion is also thought to increase the effects of brand exposure. Here, a VR game was developed with realistic virtual foods and it was assessed in the lab whether interaction with virtual foods decreases subsequent food intake similarly as real foods do. In addition the effects of brand exposure in VR on brand-relevant outcomes were assessed.

Aims:

* The first aim was to replicate the pre-exposure effect. This was done by assessing the effect of exposing participants to a puzzle game with real foods compared to real nonfoods on food intake.
* The second aim was to investigate the potential of VR for eliciting the pre-exposure effect. This was done by comparing the effect of a VR puzzle game with foods to a VR puzzle game with nonfoods on food intake.
* The third aim was to assess the effect of branding in VR on brand responses and the role of emotional responses herein. This was done by comparing a branded virtual puzzle game with foods with a (non-branded) virtual puzzle game with foods.

Study design: In a randomized 2 (game: real vs virtual) x 2 (product: food vs non-food) between-subjects design lab experiment, the effectiveness of pre-exposure to food in a VR game is tested. A fifth condition was added ("VR x branded food") in order to examine brand effects.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* None (except for age 18-30)

Exclusion Criteria:

* Peanut allergy (self-reported)

Primary outcomes:
measure: Food intake
timeFrame: During the lab session
measure: Brand attitude
timeFrame: During the lab session
measure: Purchase intention
timeFrame: During the lab session
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Virtual product appeal
timeFrame: During the lab session
measure: Craving for virtual chocolate
timeFrame: During the lab session
measure: Emotional response
timeFrame: During the lab session
measure: Perceived entertainment value
timeFrame: During the lab session
measure: Game difficulty
timeFrame: During the lab session
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Amsterdam
country: Netherlands
facility: University of Amsterdam - ComLab
Study officials:
affiliation: Tilburg University
name: Laura Nynke Laura Nynke, Dr. Ir.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Liu Y, Stamos A, Dewitte S, van Berlo ZMC, van der Laan LN. Development and Evaluation of a Virtual Reality Puzzle Game to Decrease Food Intake: Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Serious Games. 2022 Feb 3;10(1):e31747. doi: 10.2196/31747.