NCT06917391

The Young Adults' Experiences With Virtual Reality (YAES VR) Study

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 200 (estimated)
• Sponsor: NYU Langone Health · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 24 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study is to test the effect of virtual reality (VR) food marketing exposure (versus VR non-food control) on snack consumption, purchase intention, hunger, and arousal in black and white young adults. Participants will be randomized to either the VR food marketing condition or VR non-food control. Study participation duration will be 2 hours during a one-time, single visit.

Detailed description

Food marketing has been unequivocally linked to poor diet and risk of excessive weight gain in young people. Food companies disproportionately target Black consumers with more advertisements ("ads") and the least healthy ads, contributing to nutritional disparities and nutrition-related diseases. To expand their reach, food companies have developed virtual reality (VR) marketing experiences that are engaging, highly sophisticated, and may more powerfully elicit biological signals precipitating a motivation to consume foods. Yet, little is known about how exposure to VR food marketing influences biological and behavioral outcomes among Black young adults. The interactional role of food/nutrition insecurity and exposure to VR food marketing among Black young adults is also unknown. There is a critical need to understand the biological and behavioral effects of VR food marketing among Black communities while the technology is in its infancy.

Conditions

• Population Health

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Wendyverse VR food marketing experience	In the Wendyverse VR application ("app") participants can order from a Wendy's restaurant, play games, meet with others who may be visiting the Wendyverse, and access codes that can be used to obtain free food at physical restaurants.
BEHAVIORAL	Nikeland VR non-food marketing experience	In Nikeland VR app, participants can play sports, try on apparel, and engage with celebrity athletes.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-11-13
• Primary completion: 2028-03-31
• Completion: 2028-03-31
• First posted: 2025-04-08
• Last updated: 2026-01-30

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States