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

Hunger Clinical Trial

Official title:

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

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05734209
• Other study ID #: 2019-04249
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: October 3, 2020
• Est. completion date: June 9, 2022

Study information

• Verified date: February 2023
• Source: Karolinska Institutet
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

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.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 24
• Est. completion date: June 9, 2022
• Est. primary completion date: June 9, 2022
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: Female
• Age group: 18 Years to 28 Years

Eligibility

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

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Hunger

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Virtual food
Virtual food eaten using immersive virtual reality equipment
• Real food
Real food eaten using regular utensils

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Sweden	Karolinska Institutet	Stockholm	Huddinge

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Karolinska Institutet

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Sweden, 

Outcome

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