The Young Adults' Experiences With Virtual Reality (YAES VR) Study

April 20, 2026 updated by: NYU Langone Health
The purpose of this study is to test the effect of virtual reality (VR) food marketing exposure (versus VR non-food control) on snack consumption, purchase intention, hunger, and arousal in black and white young adults. Participants will be randomized to either the VR food marketing condition or VR non-food control. Study participation duration will be 2 hours during a one-time, single visit.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Food marketing has been unequivocally linked to poor diet and risk of excessive weight gain in young people. Food companies disproportionately target Black consumers with more advertisements ("ads") and the least healthy ads, contributing to nutritional disparities and nutrition-related diseases. To expand their reach, food companies have developed virtual reality (VR) marketing experiences that are engaging, highly sophisticated, and may more powerfully elicit biological signals precipitating a motivation to consume foods. Yet, little is known about how exposure to VR food marketing influences biological and behavioral outcomes among Black young adults. The interactional role of food/nutrition insecurity and exposure to VR food marketing among Black young adults is also unknown. There is a critical need to understand the biological and behavioral effects of VR food marketing among Black communities while the technology is in its infancy.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
200

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10016
        • Recruiting
        • NYU Langone Health

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. 18-24 years old;
  2. self-identify as Black or white in order to determine racial/ethnic differences in responses to unhealthy VR-based food and beverage marketing;
  3. self-report normal or corrected-to-normal vision from glasses or contacts;
  4. self-report comfort and ability to walk around within a VR paradigm;
  5. able to read, write, understand, and respond to all study materials (including the VR paradigm) in English
  6. residing in the NYC-metropolitan area in order to be available for in-person study
  7. capacity and willingness to provide consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. report a history of disorders causing motion sickness or have a history of significant motion sickness, which could be triggered within the VR paradigm
  2. self-report dietary restriction, such as food allergies or veganism, which may lead to different effects when exposed to food marketing;
  3. Self-report disliking 50% or more of the snacks that will be offered during the laboratory test snack as determined by a score of 5 or less on the food preferences questionnaire, which may have a confounding effect on consumption;
  4. report being pregnant or breastfeeding, which may affect hunger;
  5. smoke or consume tobacco, which decreases salivary flow; or
  6. self-report being very hungry based on 100 mm VAS hunger rating, which minimizes the burden to participants to fast prior to the visit and maximizes the ability to detect differences between groups.Those excluded for being very hungry will have the option of returning to the visit on a different day.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Virtual Reality (VR) food marketing exposure
Participants will be given 15 minutes to explore the VR experience and provide feedback on whether they believe their peers would engage with the experience (concealment/deception).
Behavioral: Wendyverse VR food marketing experience
In the Wendyverse VR application ("app") participants can order from a Wendy's restaurant, play games, meet with others who may be visiting the Wendyverse, and access codes that can be used to obtain free food at physical restaurants.
Active Comparator: VR non-food control
Participants will be given 15 minutes to explore the VR experience and provide feedback on whether they believe their peers would engage with the experience (concealment/deception).
Behavioral: Nikeland VR non-food marketing experience
In Nikeland VR app, participants can play sports, try on apparel, and engage with celebrity athletes.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Snack consumption
Time Frame: Post-VR exposure (up to 20 minutes)
Following the VR exposure, snacks (health and unhealthy snacks) will be offered to participants with the instruction to eat ad libitum for 20 minutes. Snack consumption will be measured using a Cardinal Detecto stainless steel scale which transmits weight information wirelessly.
Post-VR exposure (up to 20 minutes)
Purchase intention via self-report questionnaire
Time Frame: Post-VR exposure (~5-10 minutes)
Purchase intention will be assessed using a self-report questionnaire. Questions include: How likely are you to buy food from any fast-food restaurant in the next 2 weeks? Scores will range from 0 ("Not at all") to 5 ("Highly likely"). Higher scores indicate a higher likelihood to purchase food from the restaurant.
Post-VR exposure (~5-10 minutes)
Change in salivary flow
Time Frame: Baseline, post-VR exposure (~5-10 minutes)
A dental roll will be placed horizontally under participants' tongues for 30 seconds pre- and post-VR exposure. Salivation will not be collected during the exposure so as not to disrupt the immersion. An increase in salivary flow indicates hunger.
Baseline, post-VR exposure (~5-10 minutes)
Change in electrodermal activity
Time Frame: From baseline to post-VR exposure, up to 15 minutes
Electrodermal activity refers to the changes in the electrical properties of the skin due to sweat secretion. Electrodermal activity is measured through skin conductance, two Ag-AgCl electrodes will be taped to the distal phalanx of the index and ring fingers on the participants' non-dominant hand. Electrodermal activity will be measured. A stronger electrodermal response indicates arousal.
From baseline to post-VR exposure, up to 15 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
NYU Langone Health

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Omni Cassidy, Ph.D., NYU Langone Health

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
November 17, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 31, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
March 31, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 25, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 31, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
April 8, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
April 21, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 20, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 24-00910
  • 1K01MD019320-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data that underlie the results reported in this article, after deidentification (text, tables, figures, and appendices) will be made available as soon as possible or at the time of associated publication. All data will be shared by the close of the award. Data will be made available, at minimum, for seven years. Upon reasonable request The investigator who proposed to use the data. Data are available for 5 years at a third party website (Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/).

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Data will be made available as soon as possible or at the time of associated publication. All data to be shared will be shared by the close of the award. Data will be made available, at minimum, for seven years.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Data are available for 5 years at a third party website (Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/).

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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