Cognitive Distraction on Food Intake: Randomized Crossover Exploratory Study

Effect of a Cognitive Distraction on Amount, Preference, and Memory of Food Consumed: a Randomized Crossover Exploratory Study

This study determined effects of a cognitive distraction on amount, preference, and memory of food consumed and perceptions of fullness, hunger, and enjoyment of food in a healthy young-adult population. A randomized controlled crossover study of 119 healthy adults, assigned to begin in either the distracted or control condition, was conducted.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Obesity; Weight, Body
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Rapid Visual Information Processing task; Behavioral: None or Control condition

Detailed Description

Environmental distractions have been shown to affect eating patterns. Influences of food environments on consumption patterns and not simply food choices are becoming increasingly clear for their contributions to energy intake. Of particular interest is the presence of distraction. It has been postulated that when distracted, individuals are inclined to consumer more than when not distracted. However, how distraction and memory impact subsequent food choice and preference is less well known. A Rapid Visual Information Processing (RVIP) task was applied to distract individuals while eating; food intake and food behaviors were measured after RVIP distraction and compared to food intake and food behaviors without distraction in the same individuals.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 119
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Illinois
    • Urbana, Illinois, United States, 61801
      • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 16 years to 23 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• able to read and speak English and willing to consume foods provided during the study

Exclusion Criteria:

• adhering to any dietary restrictions or diets, having any food allergies, and/or having any chronic or metabolic diseases

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Distraction; Distraction during eating using the Rapid Visual Information Processing task as the distraction	Behavioral: Rapid Visual Information Processing task; A series of numbers appeared on a computer screen at a rate of one per minute. Each participant was required to identify any series of three consecutive odd or even numbers by hitting the space bar on the keyboard. The task lasted 15 minutes and included a 1-minute practice session before food being served. Participants were instructed to eat at will while completing the computer task.
Placebo Comparator: Control; No distraction during eating	Behavioral: None or Control condition; Participant were instructed to eat at will during a 15-minute duration.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Food intake	Consumption of food by number of food items eaten	Up to 14 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Snack intake	Consumption of snack choices by number of food items eaten	Up to 14 days
Memory of food intake	Recording of food that was eaten during the condition period by number of food items eaten	Up to 14 days
Fullness	How full do you feel right now? by 100mm visual analog scale; 0=not at all to 100=very much	Up to 14 days
Hunger	How hungry do you feel right now? by 100mm visual analog scale; 0=not at all to 100=very much	Up to 14 days
Enjoyment	How much did you enjoy the meal provided? by 100mm visual analog scale; 0=not at all to 100=very much	Up to 14 days

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Shelly Nickols-Richardson, PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Liguori CA, Nikolaus CJ, Nickols-Richardson SM. Cognitive Distraction at Mealtime Decreases Amount Consumed in Healthy Young Adults: A Randomized Crossover Exploratory Study. J Nutr. 2020 May 1;150(5):1324-1329. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxaa022.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 1, 2017
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 30, 2017
• Study Completion (Actual): May 31, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 18, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 1, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): September 6, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 6, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 1, 2019
• Last Verified: September 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Distraction; Eating behavior; Hunger; Fullness; Ingestive behavior; Rapid visual information processing
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Body Weight
• Other Study ID Numbers: liguori

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: Yes
• IPD Plan Description: De-identified data will be shared if required by journal requirements and/or as requested by other researchers
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Immediately until after publication of study
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: Contact with the primary investigator using criteria of co-publishing, collaborating on same topic, or using data as preliminary findings for further studies; primary investigator will review requests
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: Study Protocol; Statistical Analysis Plan (SAP); Informed Consent Form (ICF)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No