How Does Eating Behavior and Hunger in Virtual Reality Meals Compare to Real Meals?

How Does Eating Behavior and Hunger in Virtual Reality Meals Compare to Real Meals? A Randomized Crossover Study

Objective: To investigate the differences between eating virtual and real-life meals and test the hypothesis that eating a virtual meal can reduce hunger among healthy women.

Methods: Twenty healthy women will be recruited and partake in a randomized crossover study. The subjects will be asked to eat one introduction meal, two real meals, and two virtual meals, all containing real or virtual meatballs and potatoes. The real meals will be eaten on a plate placed on a scale which communicates with analytical software on a computer. The virtual meals will be eaten in a room, where participants are seated on a real chair in front of a real table, and fitted with the virtual-reality equipment. The eating behavior for both the real and virtual meals will be filmed. Hunger will be measured before and after the meals using questionnaires.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Hunger
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Virtual food; Behavioral: Real food

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 24
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Sweden
  • Huddinge
    • Stockholm, Huddinge, Sweden, 14152
      • Karolinska Institutet

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 28 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• BMI between 18.5 kg/m2 to 29 kg/m2
• "normal" physical activity (measured using the short version of the international physical activity questionnaire, IPAQ)

Exclusion Criteria:

• pregnant or breastfeeding
• smoker
• temporomandibular disorder
• recent serious dental surgery (last 6 months)
• undergoing treatments known to affect appetite (e.g., use of some psychotropic drugs)
• previous history of eating disorders
• vegetarian
• aversion to the food served

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Virtual, then real meal; Participant first had two lunch sessions eating virtual food (meal), with a wash-out period of three days. Participants then had two lunch sessions eating real food (meal), with a wash-out period of three days.	Behavioral: Virtual food; Virtual food eaten using immersive virtual reality equipment; Behavioral: Real food; Real food eaten using regular utensils
Experimental: Real, then virtual meal; Participant first had two lunch sessions eating real food (meal), with a wash-out period of three days. Participants then had two lunch sessions eating virtual food (meal), with a wash-out period of three days.	Behavioral: Virtual food; Virtual food eaten using immersive virtual reality equipment; Behavioral: Real food; Real food eaten using regular utensils

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Difference in hunger before to after meal	Rated on visual analogue scale (range 0 - 100)	Before to after meal (on average around 10 minutes)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Food intake	Grams of food ingested	During meal (around 10 minutes)
Meal duration	Minute duration of the meal	During meal (around 10 minutes)
Forkfuls	Number of times participant took food from the plate	During meal (around 10 minutes)
Additions	Number of times the participant added food to the plate	During meal (around 10 minutes)
Chews	Number of times the participant chewed the food	During meal (around 10 minutes)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Karolinska Institutet
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Billy S Langlet, PhD, Karolinska Institutet

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 3, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 9, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): June 9, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 15, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 15, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): February 17, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 17, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 15, 2023
• Last Verified: February 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 2019-04249

Drug and device information, study documents

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