Exploring the Influence of Sensory Cues on Eating Behavior Using Virtual Reality

NCT06662149 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: STUDY00025849
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 25
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

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.

Conditions

Healthy

Keywords

Virtual Reality; Eating behavior

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (6)

• Food Intake Day 1

  Total weight of the meal and individual components of the meal are measured in grams before and after participant consumption. The difference is recorded as the amount consumed by the participant. Grams of food will be converted into kilocalories and reported as energy consumed as well.

  Measured once 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption

• Food Intake Day 2

  Total weight of the meal and individual components of the meal are measured in grams before and after participant consumption. The difference is recorded as the amount consumed by the participant. Grams of food will be converted into kilocalories and reported as energy consumed as well.

  Measured 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption

• Scent Experience Questionnaire (SEQ) Baseline Visit 1

  Answered on a tablet; Participants respond to questions 1-3 using a visual analog scale with opposite descriptors on each end. Question 4 is open response that will be coded as a positive memory/scent or negative memory/scent. 1. How pleasant or unpleasant is the smell you are experiencing? (low anchor: extremely unpleasant, high anchor: extremely pleasant) 2. How intense is the smell you are experiencing? (low anchor: not detectable, high anchor: very strong) 3. How familiar is the smell you are experiencing? (low anchor: completely unknown, high anchor: extremely familiar) 4. Does the smell you are experiencing remind you of anything? If so, what?

  Measured 5-10 minutes prior to entering VR environment at Visit 1

• Scent Experience Questionnaire (SEQ) Baseline Visit 2

  Answered on a tablet; Participants respond to questions 1-3 using a visual analog scale with opposite descriptors on each end. Question 4 is open response that will be coded as a positive memory/scent or negative memory/scent. 1. How pleasant or unpleasant is the smell you are experiencing? (low anchor: extremely unpleasant, high anchor: extremely pleasant) 2. How intense is the smell you are experiencing? (low anchor: not detectable, high anchor: very strong) 3. How familiar is the smell you are experiencing? (low anchor: completely unknown, high anchor: extremely familiar) 4. Does the smell you are experiencing remind you of anything? If so, what?

  Measured 5-10 minutes prior to entering VR environment at Visit 2

• Scent Experience Questionnaire (SEQ) Post-VR Visit 1

  Answered on a tablet; Participants respond to questions 1-3 using a visual analog scale with opposite descriptors on each end. Question 4 is open response that will be coded as a positive memory/scent or negative memory/scent. 1. How pleasant or unpleasant is the smell you are experiencing? (low anchor: extremely unpleasant, high anchor: extremely pleasant) 2. How intense is the smell you are experiencing? (low anchor: not detectable, high anchor: very strong) 3. How familiar is the smell you are experiencing? (low anchor: completely unknown, high anchor: extremely familiar) 4. Does the smell you are experiencing remind you of anything? If so, what?

  Measured 1-5 minutes after entering VR environment at Visit 1

• Scent Experience Questionnaire (SEQ) Post-VR Visit 2

  Answered on a tablet; Participants respond to questions 1-3 using a visual analog scale with opposite descriptors on each end. Question 4 is open response that will be coded as a positive memory/scent or negative memory/scent. 1. How pleasant or unpleasant is the smell you are experiencing? (low anchor: extremely unpleasant, high anchor: extremely pleasant) 2. How intense is the smell you are experiencing? (low anchor: not detectable, high anchor: very strong) 3. How familiar is the smell you are experiencing? (low anchor: completely unknown, high anchor: extremely familiar) 4. Does the smell you are experiencing remind you of anything? If so, what?

  Measured 1-5 minutes after entering VR environment at Visit 2

Secondary Outcomes (18)

• Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance (PAD) Survey Baseline Visit 1

  Measured 5-10 minutes prior to entering VR environment at Visit 1

• Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance (PAD) Survey Baseline Visit 2

  Measured 5-10 minutes prior to entering VR environment at Visit 2

• Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance (PAD) Survey Post VR Visit 1

  Measured 1-5 minutes after entering VR environment at Visit 1

• Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance (PAD) Survey Post VR Visit 2

  Measured 1-5 minutes after entering VR environment at Visit 2

• Positive Affect Negative Affect Survey (PANAS) Baseline Visit 1

  Measured 5-10 minutes prior to entering VR environment at Visit 1

Other Outcomes (9)

• Reasons Individuals Stop Eating Questionnaire

  Measured once 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption and the VR experience at visit 2

• Adult Eating Behavior Questionnaire

  Measured once 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption and the VR experience at visit 2

• External Cue Reactivity Questionnaire

  Measured once 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption and the VR experience at visit 2

Study Arms (2)

Pleasant First

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will experience the pleasant smell in the participant's first visit and the unpleasant smell in the participant's second visit.

Other: Pleasant Smell; Other: Unpleasant Smell

Unpleasant First

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will experience the unpleasant smell in the participant's first visit and the pleasant smell in the participant's second visit.

Other: Pleasant Smell; Other: Unpleasant Smell

Interventions

Pleasant Smell OTHER

The participants will be in an environment with an assumed pleasant smell while consuming the meal.

Pleasant First; Unpleasant First

Unpleasant Smell OTHER

Participants will be in an environment with an assumed unpleasant smell while consuming the meal.

Pleasant First; Unpleasant First

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 29 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• 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

You may not qualify if:

• 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

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Penn State University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Health, Ingestive Behavior, and Technology Laboratory of Pennsylvania State University

State College, Pennsylvania, 16802, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Feeding Behavior

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior, Animal; Behavior

Study Officials

• Travis Masterson

  The Pennsylvania State University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor and Director of the Health, Ingestive Behavior, and Technology Lab

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 22, 2024
• First Posted: October 28, 2024
• Study Start: December 15, 2024
• Primary Completion: August 1, 2025
• Study Completion: August 1, 2025
• Last Updated: September 4, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)