Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Serious Games
Date Submitted: Nov 17, 2022
Date Accepted: Jun 7, 2023
How Does Eating Behavior and Satiety in Virtual Reality Meals Compare to Real Meals? A Randomized Crossover Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
Eating disorders and obesity are serious health problems with poor treatment outcomes and high relapse rates despite well-established treatments. Several studies suggest that virtual reality technology could enhance the current treatment outcomes and could be used as an adjunctive tool in their treatment.
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:
The study included twenty healthy women and employed a randomized crossover design. The subjects were asked to eat one introduction meal, two real meals, and two virtual meals, all containing real or virtual meatballs and potatoes. The real meals were eaten on a plate that had been placed on a scale that communicated with analytical software on a computer. The virtual meals were eaten in a room, where participants were 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 were filmed. Hunger was measured before and after the meals using questionnaires.
Results:
There was a significant difference in hunger from baseline to after the real meal (mean diff. = 61.8, P < .001), but no significant change in hunger from before to after the virtual meal (mean diff. = 6.9, P = .10). There was no significant difference in food intake between the virtual and the real meal (mean diff. = 36.8, P = .07). Meal duration was significantly shorter in the virtual meal (mean diff. = - 5.4, P < .001), which led to a higher eating rate (mean diff. = 82.9, P < .001). Some participants took bites and chewed during the virtual meal, but the number of bites and chews was lower than in the real meal. The meal duration was reduced from the first to the second virtual meal, but no significant difference was observed between the two real meals.
Conclusions:
Virtual meals appear usable without the risk of reducing hunger. Also, the current methodology does not result in an eating behavior identical to real-life conditions, but does evoke chewing and bite behavior in certain individuals.
Citation
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