NCT06662149

Exploring the Influence of Sensory Cues on Eating Behavior Using Virtual Reality

Dining Out in NYC: Using VR to Investigate the Influence of Multisensory Urban Design Factors on Eating Behavior in Emerging Adults

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 25 (actual)
• Sponsor: Penn State University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 29 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Many factors influence eating choices among humans (mood, taste, convenience, time of day, etc.). Finding simple ways to decrease food intake or improve food choices could improve weight status and overall health of the general population. The purpose of this study is to see if city and/or nature smells affect human eating behavior within a virtual reality-simulated outdoor café. The researchers of this study believe that a better understanding of how smells affect eating behavior could lead to public guidelines that direct the construction and layout of such outdoor eating environments to better support healthy behaviors.

Conditions

• Healthy

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Pleasant Smell	The participants will be in an environment with an assumed pleasant smell while consuming the meal.
OTHER	Unpleasant Smell	Participants will be in an environment with an assumed unpleasant smell while consuming the meal.

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-12-15
• Primary completion: 2025-08-01
• Completion: 2025-08-01
• First posted: 2024-10-28
• Last updated: 2025-09-04

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States