Children With CancerNCT05922553
Using Mukbang to Improve Appetite, Nutritional Status and Quality of Life in Children With Cancer
A study testing Active Ingredient Mukbang and General short videos in people with Children With Cancer, run by Wei XIA, PhD at 1 site in China.
Trial summary
This study aims to use a two arms randomized clinical trial study to evaluate the effectiveness of the effective constituent of Mukbang in helping children with cancer hospitalized for radiotherapy and chemotherapy to improve their appetite, nutritional status and quality of life. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 6 to 18 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Children With Cancer
- What is being tested?
- Active Ingredient Mukbang and General short videos
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 124 participants
- Where
- 1 siteChina
- Study dates
- 16 Dec 2024to Jun 2026
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 6 to 18 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Child, Adult
Who may be able to join
- Aged between 6 to 18 years old;
- Children in accordance with the guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of 12 Diseases related to hematologic diseases and malignant tumors (2021 version) issued by the General Office of the National Health Commission;
- At least experience one full cycle of chemotherapy;
- Children with moderate or higher symptoms of decreased appetite were screened for a list of treatment-related symptoms.
Who cannot join
- Children with serious cardiopulmonary disease, infection, organ damage, or genetic metabolic disease, immune deficiency disease, mental illness;
- Children with eye or ear dysfunction that prevents them from watching and listening to videos.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
China1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital
Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080
Wei Xia, PhD, +8618823359471, xiaw23@mail.sysu.edu.cn
About this study
Official title: The Effectiveness of Mukbang in Helping Children With Cancer Hospitalized for Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy to Improve Appetite, Nutritional Status and Quality of Life: A Randomized Control Trial
This study aims to use a two arms randomized clinical trial study to evaluate the effectiveness of the effective constituent of Mukbang in helping children with cancer hospitalized for radiotherapy and chemotherapy to improve their appetite, nutritional status and quality of life.
Read the detailed description
Cancer has a high incidence among children and adolescents worldwide. In October 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) released an overview of the Global Action on Childhood Cancer which showed that more than 400,000 children under the age of 19 were diagnosed with cancer worldwide every year. With the development and progress of diagnosis and treatment technology, the health outcome of children with cancer has been greatly improved.
However, the side effects and complications associated with cancer and its treatment can seriously affect the appetite and food intake of children with cancer, resulting in malnutrition and a low quality of life. Therefore, it is very important to effectively improve the appetite of children with cancer during treatment.
Clinical methods to improve the appetite of cancer patients mainly include drugs, diet or nutrition intervention, traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture, but each intervention has its own advantages and disadvantages which makes the clinical application effect difficult to evaluate, in urgent need of more effective solutions to solve this problem.
Mukbang has shown great potential in helping children with cancer to improve their appetite and food consumption, finally promote nutritional health. What's more, the features of Mukbang, such as high-quality and clear pictures, relaxed atmosphere created by the video makers, sounds while eating, and attractive images of food, may promote viewers' appetite and increase their intake imperceptibly. In addition to that, watching Mukbang while eating can also provide a pleasant eating experience for children with cancer, and the interaction with the Mukbang anchor can also alleviate the loneliness of children who live in hospital for such a long time, so as to enhance the children's taste experience, relieve the negative emotions of loneliness and depression.
Research has found that Mukbang can help people with low appetites increase their food intake and the interest in food. Several studies have shown that videos containing food cues can increase viewers' appetite and decrease feelings of satiety to a certain extent. At the same time, Mukbang can also increase viewers' taste experience on the basis of physics and improve children's interest in food. Thus, Mukbang is a useful tool for those who are struggling to increase the amount and variety of acceptable foods and gain weight. It also suggests that clinicians who treat eating disorders should be aware that Mukbang is a potential factor in their illness, and that effective positive use may be helpful for patients with anorexia or restrictive eating.
Given that, Mukbang will be applied to help children with cancer to improve appetite, nutritional status and quality of life. Studies have found that food images, eating sounds and interactivity of Mukbang may play a leading role in improving appetite. Thus, we defined the active ingredients of Mukbang as food images, eating sound and interactivity in this study. Based on that, this study aims to compare the effect of active ingredient Mukbang and general short videos without food cues on improving appetite in children with cancer, to provide evidence for larger randomized controlled trials (RCTS) and provide a new direction for clinical departments to develop nutritional interventions and management programs for children with cancer.
- Conditions
- Children With Cancer
- Being tested
- Active Ingredient Mukbang, General short videos
- Keywords
- Childhood Cancer, Mukbang, Appetite, Nutritional Status, Quality of Life
- Medical subject headings
- Neoplasms
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Active Ingredient MukbangBehavioural
Mukbang videos include the items which can truly improve the appetite of children with cancer, such as food images, eating sound and interactivity.
General short videosBehavioural
Short videos that don't contain any food cues.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Active Ingredient Mukbang | Experimental | Active Ingredient Mukbang will be allocated to the participants in the experimental group. The videos which presented the food images, eating sound and a relaxing and pleasant atmosphere will be sent in sequence through the short video platforms on the smart phone to the participants in the experimental group. Receives: Behavioral: Active Ingredient Mukbang |
| General short videos | Placebo comparator | General short videos without food cues will be allocated to the participants in the placebo control group. There will be no restrictions on the type of short video platforms and specific video content. Receives: Behavioral: General short videos |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Self-reported appetite during the intervention
A subjective sensation that stimulates the intake of food to provide the energy necessary for the most basic activities of life, which can be measured by the Cancer Appetite and Symptom Questionnaire (CASQ).
Measured: Change from baseline appetite during 7 days intervention
Self-reported appetite during the intervention
A subjective sensation that stimulates the intake of food to provide the energy necessary for the most basic activities of life, which can be measured by the Cancer Appetite and Symptom Questionnaire (CASQ).
Measured: Change from baseline appetite at 4 weeks follow-up
Secondary outcomes (6)
The level of nutritional status
Insufficient or excessive nutrient intake, imbalance of essential nutrients or impaired nutrient utilization, mainly manifested by wasting, stunting, underweight and micronutrient deficiency. Malnutrition is measured by the Subjective Global Nutritional Risk Assessment (SGNA).
Measured: Change from baseline nutritional status at 7 days
The level of nutritional status
Insufficient or excessive nutrient intake, imbalance of essential nutrients or impaired nutrient utilization, mainly manifested by wasting, stunting, underweight and micronutrient deficiency. Malnutrition is measured by the Subjective Global Nutritional Risk Assessment (SGNA).
Measured: Change from baseline nutritional status at 4-weeks follow-up
The level of the body mass index of the children with cancer
Body mass index (BMI), a simple method to evaluate the nutritional status and changes of children with cancer, which will be calculated as weight/height^2. Weight and height will be combined to report BMI in kg/m^2.
Measured: Change from baseline BMI at 7 days
The level of the body mass index of the children with cancer
Body mass index (BMI), a simple method to evaluate the nutritional status and changes of children with cancer, which will be calculated as weight/height^2. Weight and height will be combined to report BMI in kg/m^2.
Measured: Change from baseline BMI at 4-weeks follow-up
The quality of life after the intervention
Individuals in different cultures and value systems experience their living conditions in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns, including their physical health, mental state, independence, social relations, personal beliefs and relationships with the surrounding environment. This target is measured by the pediatric quality of life inventory measurement models 3.0 (PedsQLTM-3.0-cancer).
Measured: Change from baseline quality of life at 7 days
The quality of life after the intervention
Individuals in different cultures and value systems experience their living conditions in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns, including their physical health, mental state, independence, social relations, personal beliefs and relationships with the surrounding environment. This target is measured by the pediatric quality of life inventory measurement models 3.0 (PedsQLTM-3.0-cancer).
Measured: Change from baseline quality of life at 4-weeks follow-up
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted28 Jun 2023
- Study start16 Dec 2024
- Primary completionMar 2026 (estimated)
- Study completionJun 2026 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Children With CancerStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 124 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Wei XIA, PhD
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor-investigator, Wei XIA, PhD, Sun Yat-sen University
- Investigators
- Wei Xia, PhD, Principal investigator, Sun Yat-sen University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05922553
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- mukbang RCT
- Status last verified
- Jul 2025
- First submitted
- 5 Jun 2023
- Last updated
- 6 Aug 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: The non-identified individual participant data will be shared after the outcomes have been published.
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 6 Aug 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- The Effectiveness of Mukbang in Helping Children With Cancer Hospitalized for Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy to Improve Appetite, Nutritional Status and Quality of Life: A Randomized Control Trial
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05922553
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- mukbang RCT
- Conditions
- Children With Cancer
- Keywords
- Childhood Cancer, Mukbang, Appetite, Nutritional Status, Quality of Life
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 124 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Wei XIA, PhDUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 16 Dec 2024 (actual)
- Primary completion
- Mar 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion
- Jun 2026 (estimated)
- First posted
- 28 Jun 2023 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This study aims to use a two arms randomized clinical trial study to evaluate the effectiveness of the effective constituent of Mukbang in helping children with cancer hospitalized for radiotherapy and chemotherapy to improve their appetite, nutritional status and quality of life.
Detailed description
Cancer has a high incidence among children and adolescents worldwide. In October 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) released an overview of the Global Action on Childhood Cancer which showed that more than 400,000 children under the age of 19 were diagnosed with cancer worldwide every year. With the development and progress of diagnosis and treatment technology, the health outcome of children with cancer has been greatly improved.
However, the side effects and complications associated with cancer and its treatment can seriously affect the appetite and food intake of children with cancer, resulting in malnutrition and a low quality of life. Therefore, it is very important to effectively improve the appetite of children with cancer during treatment.
Clinical methods to improve the appetite of cancer patients mainly include drugs, diet or nutrition intervention, traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture, but each intervention has its own advantages and disadvantages which makes the clinical application effect difficult to evaluate, in urgent need of more effective solutions to solve this problem.
Mukbang has shown great potential in helping children with cancer to improve their appetite and food consumption, finally promote nutritional health. What's more, the features of Mukbang, such as high-quality and clear pictures, relaxed atmosphere created by the video makers, sounds while eating, and attractive images of food, may promote viewers' appetite and increase their intake imperceptibly. In addition to that, watching Mukbang while eating can also provide a pleasant eating experience for children with cancer, and the interaction with the Mukbang anchor can also alleviate the loneliness of children who live in hospital for such a long time, so as to enhance the children's taste experience, relieve the negative emotions of loneliness and depression.
Research has found that Mukbang can help people with low appetites increase their food intake and the interest in food. Several studies have shown that videos containing food cues can increase viewers' appetite and decrease feelings of satiety to a certain extent. At the same time, Mukbang can also increase viewers' taste experience on the basis of physics and improve children's interest in food. Thus, Mukbang is a useful tool for those who are struggling to increase the amount and variety of acceptable foods and gain weight. It also suggests that clinicians who treat eating disorders should be aware that Mukbang is a potential factor in their illness, and that effective positive use may be helpful for patients with anorexia or restrictive eating.
Given that, Mukbang will be applied to help children with cancer to improve appetite, nutritional status and quality of life. Studies have found that food images, eating sounds and interactivity of Mukbang may play a leading role in improving appetite. Thus, we defined the active ingredients of Mukbang as food images, eating sound and interactivity in this study. Based on that, this study aims to compare the effect of active ingredient Mukbang and general short videos without food cues on improving appetite in children with cancer, to provide evidence for larger randomized controlled trials (RCTS) and provide a new direction for clinical departments to develop nutritional interventions and management programs for children with cancer.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Active Ingredient Mukbang | Experimental | Behavioral: Active Ingredient MukbangActive Ingredient Mukbang will be allocated to the participants in the experimental group. The videos which presented the food images, eating sound and a relaxing and pleasant atmosphere will be sent in sequence through the short video platforms on the smart phone to the participants in the experimental group. |
| General short videos | Placebo comparator | Behavioral: General short videosGeneral short videos without food cues will be allocated to the participants in the placebo control group. There will be no restrictions on the type of short video platforms and specific video content. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 6 to 18 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Aged between 6 to 18 years old;
- Children in accordance with the guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of 12 Diseases related to hematologic diseases and malignant tumors (2021 version) issued by the General Office of the National Health Commission;
- At least experience one full cycle of chemotherapy;
- Children with moderate or higher symptoms of decreased appetite were screened for a list of treatment-related symptoms.
Key exclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Children with serious cardiopulmonary disease, infection, organ damage, or genetic metabolic disease, immune deficiency disease, mental illness;
- Children with eye or ear dysfunction that prevents them from watching and listening to videos.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Active Ingredient MukbangMukbang videos include the items which can truly improve the appetite of children with cancer, such as food images, eating sound and interactivity. | Behavioural | Active Ingredient Mukbang |
| General short videosShort videos that don't contain any food cues. | Behavioural | General short videos |
Primary outcome
Self-reported appetite during the intervention
Time frame: Change from baseline appetite during 7 days intervention
A subjective sensation that stimulates the intake of food to provide the energy necessary for the most basic activities of life, which can be measured by the Cancer Appetite and Symptom Questionnaire (CASQ).
Self-reported appetite during the intervention
Time frame: Change from baseline appetite at 4 weeks follow-up
A subjective sensation that stimulates the intake of food to provide the energy necessary for the most basic activities of life, which can be measured by the Cancer Appetite and Symptom Questionnaire (CASQ).
6 secondary outcomes
The level of nutritional status
Time frame: Change from baseline nutritional status at 7 days
The level of nutritional status
Time frame: Change from baseline nutritional status at 4-weeks follow-up
The level of the body mass index of the children with cancer
Time frame: Change from baseline BMI at 7 days
The level of the body mass index of the children with cancer
Time frame: Change from baseline BMI at 4-weeks follow-up
The quality of life after the intervention
Time frame: Change from baseline quality of life at 7 days
The quality of life after the intervention
Time frame: Change from baseline quality of life at 4-weeks follow-up
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 6 Aug 2025.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. The non-identified individual participant data will be shared after the outcomes have been published.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
Wei Xia, PhD principal investigator
Sun Yat-sen University
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Active Ingredient Mukbang and General short videos in people with Children With Cancer, run by Wei XIA, PhD at 1 site in China.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 6 Aug 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in China. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Wei Xia, PhD (+8618823359471, xiaw23@mail.sysu.edu.cn), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Self-reported appetite during the intervention (time frame: Change from baseline appetite during 7 days intervention). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 6 Aug 2025.