Virtual Reality as a Tool to Study the Influence of the Eating Environment on Eating Behavior: A Feasibility Study

Variety-seeking behavioral markers in an immersive virtual reality food buffet are associated with greater food and energy intake in laboratory meals

Food variety promotes intake, and the propensity to seek a greater variety, measured by the number of unique foods selected for a meal, may predict increased food consumption. We explored whether variety-seeking in a validated immersive virtual reality (iVR) food buffet was related to measured intake in lab meals. Adults (n = 91; 18-71y; 64 female) were asked to select foods for a meal in an iVR buffet before consuming a standard lab meal once a week for 2 weeks. The iVR buffet contained 30 foods, 15 lower energy-dense (LED) and 15 higher energy-dense (HED), including entrees, sides, soups, and desserts. The lab meal consisted of 3 LED foods (broccoli, grapes, chicken) and 3 HED foods (pasta, rolls, cookies). Food selection in the iVR buffet was operationalized into 3 variety-seeking behavioral markers based on the unique foods selected: (1) total, (2) HED, and (3) LED. Seeking a greater total variety in iVR was a significant predictor of intake in lab meals, with each additional unique food selected in iVR relating to an additional 7.4 g of food consumed in lab meals (p = 0.01). These associations demonstrate specificity: (1) seeking a greater variety of HED foods in iVR was associated with increased intake of HED foods in lab meals, and (2) seeking a greater variety of LED foods in iVR was associated with increased intake of LED foods in lab meals. These preliminary findings indicate that variety-seeking behavioral markers measured in an iVR buffet are related to measured food intake.

Immersive virtual contexts, engagement, and emotions: How do these factors influence sensory acceptance?

Although virtual reality (VR) holds great potential in sensory research, further investigations are needed to assess the impact of immersion on consumer evaluations. Previous studies have limitations, such as a small number of evaluators, inconsistent graphical quality of virtual environments, lack of comparisons with traditional laboratory settings, and insufficient data on consumer engagement during virtual assessments. To address these gaps, this study evaluated consumer engagement using a presence scale, along with acceptance and emotions evoked during the consumption of an industrial beer (American Lager). One hundred consumers assessed the beverage's acceptance and emotional response in four scenarios: three immersive virtual contexts (abstract, village, and sea) and a traditional sensory booth, used as a control for acceptance ratings. The results showed that consumption context significantly influenced the beer's acceptance. Although the beer was well accepted in all contexts, the sensory booth scored the lowest. More immersive and realistic virtual contexts evoked more positive emotions and were linked to higher beer acceptance. Additionally, machine learning models revealed that emotional responses were crucial to acceptance and influenced by the consumption context. The immersive virtual environments enabled controlled and efficient study of contextual influence. This study provides new insights into the use of VR in sensory and consumer science, highlighting its potential for industries to evaluate product acceptance in different contexts, aiding in product development and marketing strategies.

Unveiling aromas: Virtual reality and scent identification for sensory analysis

Sensory analysis is crucial for optimizing experiences in various fields, including food, cosmetics, and product design. Traditional methods can be inefficient and imprecise. This study introduces a novel approach by blending Virtual Reality (VR) technology with scent identification techniques. The aim is to investigate whether the visual representation of food products affects scent perception. Limited research has explored the use of VR in scent identification, which is especially relevant when altering the food environment setting. A virtual sensory laboratory was developed to mimic MATE's sensory booth. Sixty participants, all MATE students, were involved in this study. This method offers a potential means to streamline scent identification and reduce human bias in sensory analysis. In summary, the combination of VR technology and scent identification presents a fresh methodological approach to sensory analysis, where both scent and exposure are influenced by the environment or imagery. This concept delves into cross-modal correspondences and the role of sensory cues in shaping our perception of food odours within the VR setting.

The Making of a Newspaper Interview in Virtual Reality: Realistic Avatars, Philosophy, and Sushi

VR United is a virtual reality application that we have developed to support multiple people simultaneously interacting in the same environment. Each person is represented with a virtual body that looks like themselves. Such immersive shared environments have existed and been the subject of research for the past 30 years. Here, we demonstrate how VR United meets criteria for successful interaction, where a journalist from the Financial Times in London interviewed a professor in New York for two hours. The virtual location of the interview was a restaurant, in line with the series of interviews published as "Lunch with the FT." We show how the interview was successful, as a substitute for a physically present one. The article based on the interview was published in the Financial Times as normal for the series. We finally consider the future development of such systems, including some implications for immersive journalism.

Virtual, augmented, and mixed reality as a versatile tool in food consumer behavior evaluation: Recent advances in aroma, taste, and texture incorporation

The perceptual behavior of consumers on a product displayed in the market has a vital role in analyzing the importance given to that product. Therefore, various strategies have been developed to understand this consumer behavior in the selection of products. Immersive technologies like virtual, augmented, and mixed reality are among them. With the foremost feature of immersion in the virtual world and interaction of users with virtual objects, virtual reality, and augmented reality have unlocked their potential in research and a user-friendly tool for analyzing consumer behavior. In addition to these technologies, mixed reality also has a significant role in investigating consumer behavior. Studies on immersive technologies in food applications are vast, hence this review focuses on the applications of virtual, augmented, and mixed reality in the food selection behavior of consumers. The behavioral studies are elicited to develop new products based on consumer needs, to understand the shopping behavior in supermarkets for real-time usage, and to know the influence of emotions in a selection of products. The findings suggest that virtual, augmented, and mixed reality induce immersion of the users in food selection behavioral studies. Information on the technological advancements in the tools used for bringing immersion and interaction are discussed for its futuristic applications in food. Though immersive technology gives users a realistic virtual environment experience, its application in food systems is in the budding stage. More research on human response studies would contribute to its innovative and inevitable application in the future.

Eating Behavior and Satiety With Virtual Reality Meals Compared With Real Meals: Randomized Crossover Study

BACKGROUND

Eating disorders and obesity are serious health problems with poor treatment outcomes and high relapse rates despite well-established treatments. Several studies have suggested that virtual reality technology could enhance the current treatment outcomes and could be used as an adjunctive tool in their treatment.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims 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 20 healthy women and used a randomized crossover design. The participants were asked to eat 1 introduction meal, 2 real meals, and 2 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 was 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 difference=61.8, P<.001) but no significant change in hunger from before to after the virtual meal (mean difference=6.9, P=.10). There was no significant difference in food intake between the virtual and real meals (mean difference=36.8, P=.07). Meal duration was significantly shorter in the virtual meal (mean difference=-5.4, P<.001), which led to a higher eating rate (mean difference=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 virtual meal to the second virtual meal, but no significant difference was observed between the 2 real meals.

CONCLUSIONS

Eating a virtual meal does not appear to significantly reduce hunger in healthy individuals. Also, this methodology does not significantly result in eating behaviors identical to real-life conditions but does evoke chewing and bite behavior in certain individuals.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05734209, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05734209.

The development of an immersive mixed-reality application to improve the ecological validity of eating and sensory behavior research

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.

Eliciting real cravings with virtual food: Using immersive technologies to explore the effects of food stimuli in virtual reality

In this paper, we explore the current technical possibilities of eating in virtual reality (VR) and show how this could be used to influence eating behaviors. Cue-based exposure therapy is a well-known method used to treat eating disorders. There are several benefits to using VR in combination with cue-based therapy. However, before VR-based cue-exposure can be used for therapeutic purposes, the ability of the VR environment to elicit craving responses in participants must be assessed. This was the objective of the first part of the study, where we assessed whether our VR environment elicited food craving responses in participants. Results showed that our VR environment elicited food craving responses: Salivation Magnitude, Food Craving State and Urge to Eat was significantly different from the neutral baseline. In addition, results showed that food cravings measured through the salivation magnitude in response to the virtual condition were not significantly different from the real condition, thus showing that VR had a comparable effect on producing food cravings. The second part of the study was conducted to determine whether the addition of olfactory and interaction cues in VR increased the development of food cravings. The results of this part showed that adding synthetic olfactory cues, paired with visual cues, to our system, provided a significant further increase in food cravings. Our results demonstrate that the use of food cues in VR can increase the development of food cravings and that it is possible to provide a simple yet convincing eating experience in VR. Inevitably, food interaction in VR is still underexplored territory and further research is needed to improve utility and application in disciplines related to food and eating.

Food Desires and Hedonic Discrimination in Virtual Reality Varying in Product–Context Appropriateness among Older Consumers

Immersive virtual reality (VR) videos can replicate complex real-life situations in a systematic, repeatable and versatile manner. New product development trajectories should consider the complexities of daily life eating situations. The creation of immersive contexts of a product with varying levels of appropriateness could be a useful tool for product developers in evaluating the extent to which context may influence food acceptance and eating behavior. This study explored virtual reality (VR) as an efficient context-enhancing technology through evaluations of protein-enriched rye breads and compared the effects of a VR-simulated congruent (VR restaurant) and incongruent (VR cinema) contexts on the acceptance in older consumers. A total of 70 participants were immersed in the two VR contexts and a neutral control context in a randomized order. The responses indicating the desire and liking for rye breads were measured, and the extent of immersion during context exposure was assessed by levels of the sense of presence and engagement. Immersive VR induced positive sensations of presence and a heightened level of engagement. The VR restaurant and neutral contexts were perceived as more appropriate for consuming rye breads and induced higher desire and liking for rye breads, which supported the notion of the alignment of congruent contexts with food desire and liking. The study provides new perspectives, practical methodologies, and discoveries in regard to the creation and application of VR-immersed contexts in food product evaluation. Moreover, it focused on a consumer segment (older consumers) that has seldom been investigated in previous relevant studies. The findings suggest that immersive VR technology, as a tool for evaluating contextual factors, is important for new product development. The good user experience among older consumers further indicated the potential value of VR as a context-enhancing tool for product development.

Shopping in Reality or Virtuality? A Validation Study of Consumers' Price Memory in a Virtual vs. Physical Supermarket

This study validates a VR supermarket as a research tool by studying the influence of the food shopping setting on consumers’ price memory—an important antecedent for price comparisons in the purchase situation. In a quasi-experiment, two groups of consumers were given a shopping task in either a physical supermarket or a virtual reality supermarket setting. Upon task completion, participants’ explicit and implicit price memory was measured across three food product categories (pizza sauce, pasta, and dark chocolate). Results revealed no significant difference between the two settings, supporting the comparability between the VR shopping experience and the experience in the physical supermarket. The VR supermarket can therefore be a valid tool for studying consumer food choice behaviour in a shopping context. Further results show that explicit price memory is weaker compared to implicit price memory, that even prices are remembered better than odd prices, and that price memory follows the expected pattern in a VR supermarket as well. Finally, exploratory findings indicate that the feeling of physical presence and self-presence is relatively high for this particular VR supermarket, whereas social presence is weaker.

Development and Evaluation of a Virtual Reality Puzzle Game to Decrease Food Intake: Randomized Controlled Trial

Background

Virtual reality (VR) has gained popularity in daily life, and VR food cues seem to elicit food cravings, similar to real food cues. However, little is known about the impact of VR food cues on actual food intake.

Objective

In real life (RL), exposure to food cues in a situation in which the desire to eat food interferes with the completion of a food-related task reduces the subsequent food intake (ie, the pre-exposure effect). In this study, we examine, on the one hand, whether the pre-exposure effect could be replicated in RL and, on the other hand, whether this effect could be extended to VR contexts.

Methods

The study used a 2 (stimulus type: food vs nonfood) × 2 (mode: VR vs RL) between-subject design (n=175). Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of the 4 conditions.

Results

We found the main effect of mode on food intake, with a higher food intake after both VR conditions than after RL conditions (P=.02). In addition, among female participants, we found that exposure to both food cues (ie, VR and RL) resulted in lower food intake than exposure to both nonfood cues (P=.05). In contrast, this effect was not observed among male participants (P=.34). Additionally, VR and RL cues generated similar emotional and behavioral responses (eg, arousal and game difficulty).

Conclusions

We were unable to replicate the exposure effect in our complete sample. Subgroup analyses, however, showed that for women, exposure to food cues (either in VR or in RL) reduces food intake, indicating that a VR pre-exposure procedure may effectively be applied exclusively for women.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05169996; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05169996

Getting started with virtual reality for sensory and consumer science: Current practices and future perspectives

While virtual reality (VR) has become increasingly popular in food-related research, there has been a lack of clarity, precision, and guidelines regarding what exactly constitutes a virtual reality study, as well as the options available to the researcher for designing and implementing it. This review provides a practical guide for sensory and consumer scientists interested in exploring the emerging opportunities offered by VR. We take a deep dive into the components that make up a VR study, including hardware, software, and response measurement methods, all the while being grounded in immersion and presence theory. We then review how these building blocks are put together to create two major categories of research scenarios: product selection, which can be entirely created in VR, and food evaluation, which involve tasting products in real life. For each category, we review current literature with a focus on experimental design, then highlight future avenues and technical development opportunities within sensory and consumer research. Finally, we evaluate limitations and ethical issues in VR food research, and offer future perspectives which go above and beyond ensuring ecological validity in product testing.