Mothers' Thoughts About Kids and Eating

November 21, 2025 updated by: National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)

Mothers' Thoughts About What Their Children Eat

Summary:

  • A few studies have explored the effects of providing parents with health information about their children. However, more information is needed about the relationship between awareness of health information and changes in behavior. This study will investigate the impact of health information on choices that parents make about food for their children.
  • Mothers and fathers with a biological child between the ages of 3-7 years old may be eligible for this study. Participants are recruited from the Washington, DC metropolitan area.
  • In this study, before visiting the research center, participants will answer online questionnaires about their children's health and eating habits and their own health and eating habits.
  • At the research center, participants will use a virtual reality model of a buffet to make food choices for their children. Participants will be introduced to the computer-based virtual buffet scenario as a training session to prepare for using the buffet during the experimental context. While in the virtual environment, participants wear a virtual reality helmet that allows them to see the virtual buffet scenario.
  • After the training session, participants will watch an interactive computer presentation about a health topic.
  • Participants will then visit the virtual buffet scenario again for the formal session, and will choose a virtual lunch meal for their child as before.
  • At the end of their visit, participants will complete post-test questionnaires about their experiences during the experiment and other research-related information.
  • Participants will be asked to complete a follow-up questionnaire online a week after their visit
  • The total time for the study visit is approximately 90 minutes. The participants children will not be asked to take part in the study.

Eligibility:

- Men and Women at least 18 years of age who have a biological child between the ages of 3 and 7 who has no major diet-related health conditions, developmental delays, or disabilities. You may not take part in the study if you have a history of seizures and/or are pregnant.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Purpose

This study will investigate the impact of health information on choices that parents make about food for their children. Participants will use a virtual reality model of a buffet to make food choices.

Mothers and fathers with a biological child between the ages of 3-7 years old may be eligible for this study. Participants are recruited from the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

Study participants will complete THREE sets of surveys and one task. Participants will complete a web-based survey before coming in for a study appointment. When participants arrive for their appointment, they will watch an interactive presentation on health information. Next, participants will interact in a virtual reality environment and will be asked to select virtual lunch for their child from a buffet. While in the virtual environment, a participant wears a head-mounted virtual reality headset that allows him/her to see elements of the environment. Participants will complete an additional computer-based survey. Finally, participants will be asked to complete an online questionnaire a week following their visit. The total time for the study visit is approximately 90 minutes. The participants children will not be asked to take part in the study.

Detailed Description

This study will investigate issues around the impact of health information on choices that parents make about food for their children. Participants will perform tasks that include completing computer-based surveys, watching an interactive computer-based presentation about health information, participating in a virtual reality model by selecting virtual lunch for their children from a buffet, and completing a computed-based exit survey. As part of the study, participants will wear a virtual reality helmet and be immersed in a buffet where they will select virtual lunch for their child.

For this study, we are only recruiting men and women that have a biological child between the ages of 3-7 years old. You may not take part in the study if you have a history of seizures and/or are pregnant.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

1148

Phase

  • 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 Locations

  • United States
    • Maryland
      • Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892
        • National Institutes of Health Clinical Center

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 100 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

  • INCLUSION CRITERIA :

Study 1:

All participants will be healthy adult women over the age of 18 (though in practice the age range is likely to be constrained naturally by the required age of the index child).

  1. having a self-reported body mass index of greater than or equal to 25
  2. having some amount of familiarity with their family health history
  3. having a biological child between the ages of 4 and 5 inclusive, who lives in the same household at least 1 day out of the past 30 days, and who has no major food allergies or diet-related health conditions, developmental delays, or disabilities
  4. having the ability to read and write in English
  5. being able to come to the NIH Clinical Center for one visit

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

  1. having a vestibular or seizure disorder;
  2. having a high propensity for motion sickness;
  3. known pregnancy; (4) uncorrected low vision or hearing;

(5) inability to complete tasks in the virtual environment;

(6) past or current history of eating disorder;

(7) NHGRI employees

Study 2:

INCLUSION CRITERIA:

All participants will be healthy adults over the age of 18 (though in practice the age range is likely to be constrained naturally by the required age of the index child).

  1. having a self-perception of being overweight

  2. having a biological child between the ages of 3 and 7

    inclusive (of any weight), who has no food allergies to buffet items (e.g., dairy, wheat, fruit) or diet-related health conditions, developmental delays, or disabilities that would severely limit food

    choices on the virtual buffet and who does not have a vegan or gluten-free diet

  3. self-reporting that the parent is responsible for feeding to the child to criterion
  4. having the ability to read and write in English
  5. being able to come to the NIH Clinical Center for one visit

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

  1. having a vestibular or seizure disorder
  2. having a high propensity for motion sickness
  3. known pregnancy
  4. uncorrected low vision or hearing
  5. inability to complete tasks in the virtual environment
  6. past or current history of eating disorder
  7. NHGRI employees
  8. having another household member or another biological parent of their index child having participated in the study
  9. women who report being pregnant

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: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Factorial Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Control
Information about child health
Behavioral: Reading Information
Reading information about risk factors for obesity among children
Experimental: Family Environment Information
Information about family environment factors in children's obesity risk
Behavioral: Reading Information
Reading information about risk factors for obesity among children
Experimental: Gene times Family Environment Information
Information about interactions between genetic and family environment factors in children's obesity risk
Behavioral: Reading Information
Reading information about risk factors for obesity among children
Experimental: Genetic Information
Information about genetic factors in child obesity risk
Behavioral: Reading Information
Reading information about risk factors for obesity among children

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The number of calories selected for participant's index child in a virtual buffet food selection task
Time Frame: 1 visit
The number of calories selected for participant's index child in a virtual buffet food selection task
1 visit

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Susan J Persky, Ph.D., National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)

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

Helpful Links

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)

November 19, 2010

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 12, 2019

Study Completion (Actual)

July 12, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 13, 2010

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 13, 2010

First Posted (Estimated)

March 16, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

November 24, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 21, 2025

Last Verified

November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 100076
  • 10-HG-0076

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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