Validation of a Virtual Reality Buffet environment to assess food selection processes among emerging adults (original) (raw)
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Foods
In this manuscript, we describe a new approach to study the effect of the eating environment on food intake and eating behavior using virtual reality technology. Fifteen adults consumed pizza rolls in two virtual reality (VR) environments: a restaurant and a table in an empty room. The participants’ food intake, eating parameters (e.g., masticatory parameters and eating rate), and their sensory evaluation of the test food was measured. The participants’ sense of presence (the feeling of being in the virtual environment) and markers of arousal were also measured. There was no statistical significant difference in food intake or the sensory evaluation of the test food. In the restaurant condition, participants used fewer masticatory cycles before swallowing but there was no effect on eating rate or maximum bite force. Participants experienced a greater sense of presence when they were in the pizza restaurant scene. Moreover, their heart rate and skin temperature were higher in the res...
Using virtual reality to study food cravings
Appetite, 2013
Food cravings (FCs) are associated with overeating and obesity and are triggered by environmental cues. The study of FCs is challenged by difficulty replicating the natural environment in a laboratory. Virtual reality (VR) could be used to deliver naturalistic cues in a laboratory. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether food related cues delivered by VR could induce greater FCs than neutral VR cues, photographic food cues, or real food. Sixty normal weight non-dieting women were recruited; and, to prevent a floor effect, half were primed with a monotonous diet (MD). Experimental procedures involved delivering neutral cues via VR and food related cues via VR, photographs, and real food in counterbalanced order while measuring subjective (self-report) and objective (salivation) FCs. FCs produced by VR were marginally greater than a neutral cue, not significantly different from picture cues, and significantly less than real food. The modest effects may have been due to quality of the VR system and/or measures of FC (i.e., self-report and salivation). FC threshold among non-dieting normal weight women was lowered with the use of a MD condition. Weight loss programs with monotonous diets may inadvertently increase FCs making diet compliance more difficult.
A Virtual Reality Food Court to Study Meal Choices in Youth: Design and Assessment of Usability
JMIR Formative Research, 2019
Background Regular consumption of take-out and fast foods with sugary drinks is associated with poor quality diets and higher prevalence of obesity. Among the settings where such food is consumed is the food court typically found in shopping malls prominent in many countries. Objective The objective of this research was to develop a virtual reality food court that could be used to test food environmental interventions, such as taxation, and ultimately to facilitate the selection of healthier food choices. Methods Fourteen food courts in Sydney, Australia were selected to include those in the city center and suburbs of high and low socioeconomic status. Researchers visited the courts to collect information on number and type of food outlets, all menu items for sale, cost of foods and beverages and sales promotions. This information was used to assemble 14 food outlets typically found in food courts, and representative menus were compiled. The UNITY gaming platform was used to design ...
Virtual reality (VR) provides a potentially powerful tool for researchers seeking to investigate eating and physical activity. Some unique conditions are necessary to ensure that the psychological processes that influence real eating behavior also influence behavior in VR environments. Accounting for these conditions is critical if VR-assisted research is to accurately reflect real-world situations. The current work discusses key considerations VR researchers must take into account to insure similar psychological functioning in virtual and actual reality and does so by focusing on the process of spontaneous mental simulation. Spontaneous mental stimulation is prevalent under real-world conditions but may be absent under VR conditions, potentially leading to differences in judgement and behavior between virtual and actual reality. For simulation to occur, the virtual environment must be perceived as being available for action. A useful chart is supplied as a reference to help researchers to investigate eating and physical activity more effectively.
Frontiers in Nutrition, 2023
Introduction: The modern eating environment has been implicated as a driving force of the obesity epidemic. Mixed reality applications may improve traditional methodological assessments of eating behavior by improving the ecological validity of the laboratory setting. Methods: Research experts evaluated the utility and ecological validity of a mixed reality application that allowed immersion within virtual environments through utilizing the passthrough cameras of the head mounted display to view and interact with real foods. An initial evaluation was conducted that involved three virtual environments: a traditional laboratory booth, a non-textured restaurant, and a full-textured restaurant. The feedback from the initial evaluation was used to create a new virtual restaurant environment and a subsequent evaluation was conducted. Results: Nearly all research experts suggested adding social cues such as people and background noise to create a more authentic and ecologically valid experience. The experts scored the new virtual restaurant environment to be more acceptable than eating or conducting research in a sensory booth but scored lower when compared to conducting research in a real-world restaurant setting. Discussion: The results of this evaluation suggest that mixed reality applications may be a new methodology to assess environmental influences of eating behavior and may be a promising direction for eating behavior and sensory science research.
External Eating as a Predictor of Cue-reactivity to Food-related Virtual Environments
Studies in health technology and informatics, 2015
The objective of this study was to assess the association between external eating style and food craving experienced during exposure to food cues in virtual reality (VR) environments in both clinical and non-clinical samples. According to the externality theory, people with external eating experience higher reactivity when exposed to food cues, which in turn increases the probability of overeating. Forty patients with eating disorders (23 with bulimia nervosa and 17 with binge eating disorder) and 78 undergraduate students were exposed to 10 different food cues in four VR environments (kitchen, dining room, bedroom, and café). After 30 seconds of exposure to each VR environment, food craving was assessed using a visual analog scale. External, emotional and restrictive eating styles were also assessed using the DEBQ. The results showed a strong association between external eating and cue-elicited food craving. After controlling for the presence of eating disorder diagnosis, external ...
Innovations in consumer research: The virtual food buffet
Food Quality and Preference, 2018
Experimental studies are important in the process of gaining a better understanding of people's food choices. The present study, which tested the validity of a virtual food buffet, delivers a proof of concept. The proposed method uses virtual reality to simulate a buffet with three different foods from which participants could serve a meal. To determine the validity of the new method, a fake food buffet-known to be a valid and reliable method-was used as a comparison. A sample of 34 participants served themselves two meals, one in virtual reality and one from a fake food buffet. The order of the two buffets was randomized. We observed high correlations between the kJs of the foods served in the two conditions (r ≥ .75, p < .001). Our results suggest that the virtual food buffet is a useful research method. Virtual reality seems to be a promising method for examining the impact of environmental cues on human nutritional behavior.
2020 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW), 2020
The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of mixed-reality systems to virtually manipulate the eating experience and facilitate increased food intake among older participants. Social isolation is often associated with undernourishment among older adults receiving care services. Mixed-reality systems that blend real elements and a virtual world can conveniently allow older adults to eat a meal in their home while experiencing having a conversation with friends through virtual avatars in a virtual environment. A within-subjects study on thirty older participants investigated whether the mixed-reality illusion of eating in a living room with and without familiar others contributed positively to the meal experience and increased energy intake. The results did not display any significant changes in energy intake but highlighted that the virtual living room had a more energetic and pleasant atmosphere and that meals eaten in the virtual room were perceived to be of a higher q...
Studies in health technology and informatics, 2014
The objective of this study was to identify frequent situations and specific cues that produce the craving to binge in Spanish and Italian samples of patients with eating disorders (ED). There were two main aims: to assess transcultural differences in the contexts and cues that elicit food craving; and to develop valid, reliable VR environments for effective cue-exposure therapy (CET) for patients from both countries. and 75 Italian ED patients completed an ad hoc questionnaire to assess contexts and cues that trigger the craving to binge. No differences between groups were found. All patients reported experiencing higher levels of craving in the afternoon/early evening and in the late evening/night, between meals, when alone, and more frequently at the end of the week. Being in the dining room, the kitchen, the bedroom, the bakery and the supermarket were the specific situations that produced the highest levels of craving to binge. We used the questionnaire results to develop a virtual reality application for CET.
Nutrients, 2020
The use of Extended Reality (XR) (i.e. Virtual and Augmented Reality) for nutrition education and behavior change has not been comprehensively reviewed. This paper presents findings from a scoping review of current published research. Articles (n = 92) were extracted from PubMed and Scopus using a structured search strategy and selection approach. Pertinent study information was extracted using a standardized data collection form. Each article was independently reviewed and coded by two members of the research team, who then met to resolve any coding discrepancies. There is an increasing trend in publication in this area, mostly regarding Virtual Reality. Most studies used developmental testing in a lab setting, employed descriptive or observational methods, and focused on momentary behavior change like food selection rather than education. The growth and diversity of XR studies suggest the potential of this approach. There is a need and opportunity for more XR technology focused on...