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

Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 89
Author(s):  
James H. Oliver ◽  
James H. Hollis
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Food Intake ◽  
Sensory Evaluation ◽  
Eating Behavior ◽  
Eating Rate ◽  
Virtual Reality Technology ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Test Food ◽  
Sense Of Presence ◽  
Significant Difference

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 restaurant condition. This study suggests that VR could be developed as a new tool to study the effect of the eating environment on food intake and eating behavior.

scholarly journals The Development of Virtual Reality as a Tool to Investigate Eating Behavior

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 1308-1308
Author(s):  
James Hollis ◽  
James Oliver
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Food Intake ◽  
Sensory Evaluation ◽  
Eating Behavior ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Infrared Camera ◽  
Physiological Data ◽  
White Background ◽  
Test Food ◽  
Head Mounted Display

Abstract Objectives The objective of this study was to a) determine the feasibility of eating in virtual reality (VR) environment while wearing a head mounted display (HMD) and b) determine the effect of eating in a virtual restaurant on food intake, sensory evaluation of the test food and masticatory parameters. Methods Fifteen adults were asked to report to the laboratory on two occasions, separated by at least one week, at their usual lunchtime. On reporting to the laboratory, surface electrodes were attached to the left and right masseter muscles to measure masticatory activity and a wristband placed on the non-dominant wrist to collect physiological data. The participant sat quietly for 5 minutes before a VR (HMD) was placed on their head. The HMD displayed either a virtual restaurant (pizzeria) or a blank scene (consisting of a white background and a table). The participant's hand movements were captured using an infrared camera mounted on the HMD so when the participant moved their hands this was represented by computer generated model hands in the VR scene. The test foods (pizza bites) were represented in VR using a 3D model of pizza bites. The test foods were arranged so that when the participant touched the test food model in the VR scene they touched the test food in real life allowing them to locate and pick up the test food. The participant was instructed to eat the test food until they felt comfortably full.  When the participant finished eating the equipment was removed and they completed questionnaires regarding their feelings of presence and experiences in the VR environment and their ratings of the test food attributes. Results Participants were able to successfully locate and eat the pizza rolls while in the VR environment. The participants feeling of presence was higher in the restaurant scene compared to the blank scene (P < 0.05). Heart rate and skin temperature were higher in the restaurant scene (P < 0.05). Differences in masticatory parameters were found with participants using fewer masticatory cycles before swallowing in the restaurant scene (P < 0.05). There were no differences between scenes regarding the sensory evaluation of the test foods. There was no difference in food intake between the treatments. Conclusions Eating in VR is feasible and may provide a new method to understand eating behavior in different contexts. Funding Sources None.

scholarly journals Predictors of Smoking Craving During Virtual Reality Exposure

2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 423-434
Author(s):  
Marta Ferrer-García ◽  
Olaya García-Rodríguez ◽  
Irene Pericot-Valverde ◽  
Jin H. Yoon ◽  
Roberto Secades-Villa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Nicotine Dependence ◽  
Cue Reactivity ◽  
Virtual Reality Technology ◽  
Promising Tool ◽  
Sense Of Presence ◽  
Individual Variables ◽  
Virtual Reality Exposure ◽  
Cue Exposure Treatment

Cue exposure treatment (CET) consists of controlled and repeated exposure to drug-related stimuli in order to reduce cue-reactivity. Virtual reality (VR) has proved to be a promising tool for exposition. However, identifying the variables that can modulate the efficacy of this technique is essential for selecting the most appropriate exposure modality. The aim of this study was to determine the relation between several individual variables and self-reported craving in smokers exposed to VR environments. Forty-six smokers were exposed to seven complex virtual environments that reproduce typical situations in which people smoke. Self-reported craving was selected as the criterion variable and three types of variables were selected as the predictor variables: related to nicotine dependence, related to anxiety and impulsivity, and related to the sense of presence in the virtual environments. Sense of presence was the only predictor of self-reported craving in all the experimental virtual environments. Nicotine dependence variables added predictive power to the model only in the virtual breakfast at home. No relation was found between anxiety or impulsivity and self-reported craving. Virtual reality technology can be very helpful for improving CET for substance use disorders. However, the use of virtual environments would make sense only insofar as the sense of presence was high. Otherwise, the effectiveness of exposure might be affected.

scholarly journals A Virtual Reality Environment Using Concepts of Serious Games and Gamification for the Treatment of Eating Disorders

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francielly Rodrigues ◽  
Priscila Wilbert ◽  
José Carlos Tavares Da Silva ◽  
Jauvane C. De Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
Virtual Reality Environment ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Food Avoidance ◽  
Sense Of Presence ◽  
Common Strategy ◽  
Body Image Disturbances

An eating disorder is a disturb characterized by an atypical eating behavior. The most common strategy for treatment is CBT, and its limitations have shown to be overcome using virtual reality approaches. Most VR envi- ronments created for this purpose reproduce tasks for treatment of body image disturbances and food avoidance. This work presents a new approach for eating disorders treatment using VR and concepts of serious games and gamification, which have been shown of promising potential in health context due to its ad- vantages when compared to other approaches. Tests assessing the usability and sense of presence in the virtual environment were applied to a group of 10 par- ticipants, indicating that the environment is well suited for medical treatment.

scholarly journals I walk, therefore I am: a multidimensional study on the influence of the locomotion method upon presence in virtual reality

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 577-590
Author(s):  
José L Soler-Domínguez ◽  
Carla de Juan ◽  
Manuel Contero ◽  
Mariano Alcañiz
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Electrodermal Activity ◽  
Objective Measure ◽  
Sense Of Presence ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Head Bobbing ◽  
Controversial Topic ◽  
Being There ◽  
First Time

Abstract A defining virtual reality (VR) metric is the sense of presence, a complex, multidimensional psychophysical construct that represents how intense is the sensation of actually being there, inside the virtual environment (VE), forgetting how technology mediates the experience. Our paper explores how locomotion influences presence, studying two different ways of artificial movement along the VE: walking-in-place (through head bobbing detection) and indirect walking (through touchpad). To evaluate that influence, a narrative-neutral maze was created, from where 41 participants (N=41) had to escape. Measuring presence is a controversial topic since there is not a single, objective measure but a wide range of metrics depending on the different theoretical basis. For this reason, we have used for the first time, representative metrics from all three traditional dimensions of presence: subjective presence (SP) (self-reported through questionnaires), behavioral presence (BP) (obtained from unconscious reactions while inside the VE), and physiological presence (PP) [usually measured using heart rate or electrodermal activity (EDA)]. SP was measured with the ITC-SOPI questionnaire, BP by collecting the participants’ reactions, and PP by using a bracelet that registered EDA. The results show two main findings: (i) There is no correlation between the different presence metrics. This opens the door to a simpler way of measuring presence in an objective, reliable way. (ii) There is no significant difference between the two locomotion techniques for any of the three metrics, which shows that the authenticity of VR does not rely on how you move within the VE.

scholarly journals Cyber sickness in low-immersive, semi-immersive, and fully immersive virtual reality

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergo Martirosov ◽  
Marek Bureš ◽  
Tomáš Zítka
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Head Mounted Display ◽  
Sense Of Presence ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Immersive Environment ◽  
Grooved Pegboard Test

AbstractIt is known that virtual reality (VR) experience may cause cyber sickness. One aspect of VR is an immersion or otherwise sense of presence, the sense of feeling oneself in a virtual world. In this paper an experiment which was conducted in order to find the link between level of immersion and cyber sickness felt by participants is presented. Eighty-nine participants aged between 19 and 36 years have been equally divided into four groups with different level of VR immersion. The low-immersive group was represented by PC with monoscopic screen, the semi-immersive group was represented by CAVE with stereoscopic projector, the fully immersive group was represented by VR head-mounted display, and the last group was the control group without any kind of immersion. The task for the participants was to navigate through the maze for a specified amount of time (10 min). The Simulator Sickness Questionnaire was used as a subjective measure tool for cyber sickness level and Grooved Pegboard Test for assessing the fine dexterity, both before and after the experiment. Regarding the time spend in VR the fully immersive environment had the biggest problems as more than half of the participants had to stop before 10 min (p < 0.001). Concerning the cyber sickness, the significant increase in nausea score between pre-test and post-test scores has been observed in semi-immersive group (p = 0.0018) and fully immersive group (p < 0.0001). The increase in oculomotor score was smaller. The significant difference was noted only in fully immersive group (p = 0.0449). In spite of great nausea factor after the VR immersion the participants did not show a decrease of fine dexterity in any group (p < 0.001).

Condition notification assisted by virtual reality technology reduces the anxiety levels of parents of children with simple CHD: a prospective randomised controlled study

2022 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Li-Wen Wang ◽  
Jian-Feng Liu ◽  
Wen-Peng Xie ◽  
Qiang Chen ◽  
Hua Cao
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
State Anxiety ◽  
The State ◽  
Anxiety Scale ◽  
Controlled Study ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Virtual Reality Technology ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Anxiety Levels ◽  
Randomised Controlled

Abstract Purpose: This study explored the effects of condition notification based on virtual reality technology on the anxiety levels of parents of children with simple CHD. Methods: The subjects of the study were the parents of 60 children with simple CHD who were treated in our centre. The state anxiety scale was used to assess the anxiety status of the parents of the children before and after the condition notification in different ways (based on virtual reality explanations and written explanations). Results: In this study, a total of 55 parents of children with CHD successfully completed the survey. At the time of admission, there was no significant difference in the state anxiety scale scores of the parents between the two groups. The anxiety status of the virtual reality group was relieved after the condition notification assisted by virtual reality technology, and there was a significant difference compared with the control group. Conclusion: Condition notification based on virtual reality technology can effectively alleviate the anxiety of parents of children with simple CHD, which is worthy of clinical application.

Using Advanced Approaches in Urban Design Researches

2015 ◽  
pp. 722-750
Author(s):  
Amir Shakibamanesh ◽  
Mahshid Ghorbanian
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Urban Design ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Virtual Reality Technology ◽  
Design Studies ◽  
Sense Of Presence ◽  
Design Projects ◽  
3D Digital Models ◽  
Scientific Sense

A lot of scientific studies have investigated virtual reality, the technological phenomenon of the modern world. However, there is no comprehensive study about the practical use of this technology in the urban design field. The aim of this chapter is to investigate this subject. The first step is to outline the 3D digital models discussed as a context for the formation of virtual reality. Then summarizing experts view in the field of virtual reality technology; the study presents components, conditions and requirements necessary to create a virtual environment in its real scientific sense. Since the chapter aims at utilizing virtual reality in the context of urban design studies, it focuses on virtual reality applications in urban design projects, and advantages and limitations of this technique in this area. Finally, at the end of this chapter most common devices needed for equipping a VR Lab and experiencing the sense of presence in virtual environment have been studied in three main categories including non-immersive, immersive, and full-immersive.

Using Advanced Approaches in Urban Design Researches

2016 ◽  
pp. 2281-2308
Author(s):  
Amir Shakibamanesh ◽  
Mahshid Ghorbanian
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Urban Design ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Virtual Reality Technology ◽  
Design Studies ◽  
Sense Of Presence ◽  
Design Projects ◽  
3D Digital Models ◽  
Scientific Sense

A lot of scientific studies have investigated virtual reality, the technological phenomenon of the modern world. However, there is no comprehensive study about the practical use of this technology in the urban design field. The aim of this chapter is to investigate this subject. The first step is to outline the 3D digital models discussed as a context for the formation of virtual reality. Then summarizing experts view in the field of virtual reality technology; the study presents components, conditions and requirements necessary to create a virtual environment in its real scientific sense. Since the chapter aims at utilizing virtual reality in the context of urban design studies, it focuses on virtual reality applications in urban design projects, and advantages and limitations of this technique in this area. Finally, at the end of this chapter most common devices needed for equipping a VR Lab and experiencing the sense of presence in virtual environment have been studied in three main categories including non-immersive, immersive, and full-immersive.

scholarly journals Eating behaviour and retro-nasal aroma release in normal-weight and overweight adults: a pilot study

2011 ◽  
Vol 106 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolien Zijlstra ◽  
Andrea Johanna Bukman ◽  
Monica Mars ◽  
Annette Stafleu ◽  
Rianne M. A. J. Ruijschop ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Intake ◽  
Weight Status ◽  
Eating Behaviour ◽  
Normal Weight ◽  
Eating Rate ◽  
Eating Behaviours ◽  
Aroma Release ◽  
Bite Size ◽  
Significant Difference

Eating rate and bite size are important factors affecting food intake, and we hypothesise the underlying role of oral sensory exposure in this. However, the latter currently lacks objective measuring parameters, but an interesting measure could be the extent ofin vivoretro-nasal aroma release. Second, the literature is ambiguous about overweight subjects differing from normal-weight subjects in eating behaviour. Consequently, we investigated: (1) whether eating behaviour (food intake, eating rate, bite size, number of bites and meal duration) relates to weight status and (2) whether the extent of retro-nasal aroma release relates to eating behaviour and weight status. A matched group (sex, age and dietary restraint) of twenty-seven normal-weight (BMI 21·8 (sd1·6) kg/m2) and twenty-seven overweight/obese subjects (BMI 30·5 (sd5·8) kg/m2) consumed a spiced rice meal and apple pie yogurt on separate test days. The extent of retro-nasal aroma release was measured on a third test day. Mean bite size for spiced rice was significantly (P = 0·03) larger in overweight/obese (10·3 (sd3·2) g)v.normal-weight subjects (8·7 (sd2·1) g). There were no other significant differences in eating behaviour or retro-nasal aroma release between the groups. Eating behaviours were not correlated with BMI or retro-nasal aroma release. Subjects showed consistent eating behaviour for both test products. Eating behaviour might be a characteristic of an individual but not by definition a characteristic for a group of people based on their weight. Given the large sample sizes, necessary according toa posteriorisample size calculations, one needs to consider the relevance of finding a statistically significant difference in eating behaviour between the weight groups in a laboratory setting.

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