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HealthyNCT06662149

Exploring the Influence of Sensory Cues on Eating Behavior Using Virtual Reality

A study testing Pleasant Smell and Unpleasant Smell in people with Healthy, run by Penn State University at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

Many factors influence eating choices among humans (mood, taste, convenience, time of day, etc.). Finding simple ways to decrease food intake or improve food choices could improve weight status and overall health of the general population. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 29 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Healthy
What is being tested?
Pleasant Smell and Unpleasant Smell
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
25 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
15 Dec 2024to 1 Aug 2025
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

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 18 to 29 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult

Who may be able to join

  • Between the ages of 18-29
  • Fluent in English
  • Free of self-reported food allergies/food sensitivities
  • No diagnosis of cognitive or physical disabilities/disorders that may affect appetite or eating behaviors (Examples include Major Depressive Disorder, dementia, or eating disorders)
  • No diagnosis of disabilities that may affect sensory proprioception related to virtual reality (Examples include vertigo, epilepsy, and ataxia)
  • Not color blind
Show all 9Show fewer
  • Does not experience anosmia (inability or weak ability to smell)
  • Must have hair ≥3 cm in length at the cortisol sample site (roughly midline of the skull left to right and two inches up from the base of the hairline at the neck).
  • No hair transplant in the last 6 months

Who cannot join

  • Are younger than 18 or older than 29 years of age
  • Not fluent in English
  • Have self-reported food allergies
  • Have a diagnosis of cognitive or physical disabilities that may affect appetite or eating behaviors (Examples include Major Depressive Disorder, dementia, or eating disorders)
  • Have a diagnosis of disabilities that may affect sensory proprioception related to virtual reality (Examples include vertigo, epilepsy, and ataxia)
  • Suffers from color blindness
Show all 9Show fewer
  • Suffers from anosmia (inability or weak ability to smell)
  • Hair shorter than 3 cm in length at the cortisol sample site (roughly midline of the skull left to right and two inches up from the base of the hairline at the neck)
  • Has had a hair transplant in the last 6 months

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site

  • Health, Ingestive Behavior, and Technology Laboratory of Pennsylvania State University

    State College, Pennsylvania, 16802

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Dining Out in NYC: Using VR to Investigate the Influence of Multisensory Urban Design Factors on Eating Behavior in Emerging Adults

Many factors influence eating choices among humans (mood, taste, convenience, time of day, etc.). Finding simple ways to decrease food intake or improve food choices could improve weight status and overall health of the general population. The purpose of this study is to see if city and/or nature smells affect human eating behavior within a virtual reality-simulated outdoor café. The researchers of this study believe that a better understanding of how smells affect eating behavior could lead to public guidelines that direct the construction and layout of such outdoor eating environments to better support healthy behaviors.

Conditions
Healthy
Being tested
Pleasant Smell, Unpleasant Smell
Keywords
Virtual Reality, Eating behavior
Medical subject headings
Feeding Behavior

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Pleasant SmellOther

    The participants will be in an environment with an assumed pleasant smell while consuming the meal.

  • Unpleasant SmellOther

    Participants will be in an environment with an assumed unpleasant smell while consuming the meal.

Study groups in NCT06662149
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Pleasant FirstExperimentalParticipants will experience the pleasant smell in the participant's first visit and the unpleasant smell in the participant's second visit.
Receives: Other: Pleasant Smell; Other: Unpleasant Smell
Unpleasant FirstExperimentalParticipants will experience the unpleasant smell in the participant's first visit and the pleasant smell in the participant's second visit.
Receives: Other: Pleasant Smell; Other: Unpleasant Smell

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Food Intake Day 1

    Total weight of the meal and individual components of the meal are measured in grams before and after participant consumption. The difference is recorded as the amount consumed by the participant. Grams of food will be converted into kilocalories and reported as energy consumed as well.

    Measured: Measured once 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption

  2. Food Intake Day 2

    Total weight of the meal and individual components of the meal are measured in grams before and after participant consumption. The difference is recorded as the amount consumed by the participant. Grams of food will be converted into kilocalories and reported as energy consumed as well.

    Measured: Measured 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption

  3. Scent Experience Questionnaire (SEQ) Baseline Visit 1

    Answered on a tablet; Participants respond to questions 1-3 using a visual analog scale with opposite descriptors on each end. Question 4 is open response that will be coded as a positive memory/scent or negative memory/scent.

    1. How pleasant or unpleasant is the smell you are experiencing? (low anchor: extremely unpleasant, high anchor: extremely pleasant)
    2. How intense is the smell you are experiencing? (low anchor: not detectable, high anchor: very strong)
    3. How familiar is the smell you are experiencing? (low anchor: completely unknown, high anchor: extremely familiar)
    4. Does the smell you are experiencing remind you of anything? If so, what?

    Measured: Measured 5-10 minutes prior to entering VR environment at Visit 1

  4. Scent Experience Questionnaire (SEQ) Baseline Visit 2

    Answered on a tablet; Participants respond to questions 1-3 using a visual analog scale with opposite descriptors on each end. Question 4 is open response that will be coded as a positive memory/scent or negative memory/scent.

    1. How pleasant or unpleasant is the smell you are experiencing? (low anchor: extremely unpleasant, high anchor: extremely pleasant)
    2. How intense is the smell you are experiencing? (low anchor: not detectable, high anchor: very strong)
    3. How familiar is the smell you are experiencing? (low anchor: completely unknown, high anchor: extremely familiar)
    4. Does the smell you are experiencing remind you of anything? If so, what?

    Measured: Measured 5-10 minutes prior to entering VR environment at Visit 2

  5. Scent Experience Questionnaire (SEQ) Post-VR Visit 1

    Answered on a tablet; Participants respond to questions 1-3 using a visual analog scale with opposite descriptors on each end. Question 4 is open response that will be coded as a positive memory/scent or negative memory/scent.

    1. How pleasant or unpleasant is the smell you are experiencing? (low anchor: extremely unpleasant, high anchor: extremely pleasant)
    2. How intense is the smell you are experiencing? (low anchor: not detectable, high anchor: very strong)
    3. How familiar is the smell you are experiencing? (low anchor: completely unknown, high anchor: extremely familiar)
    4. Does the smell you are experiencing remind you of anything? If so, what?

    Measured: Measured 1-5 minutes after entering VR environment at Visit 1

  6. Scent Experience Questionnaire (SEQ) Post-VR Visit 2

    Answered on a tablet; Participants respond to questions 1-3 using a visual analog scale with opposite descriptors on each end. Question 4 is open response that will be coded as a positive memory/scent or negative memory/scent.

    1. How pleasant or unpleasant is the smell you are experiencing? (low anchor: extremely unpleasant, high anchor: extremely pleasant)
    2. How intense is the smell you are experiencing? (low anchor: not detectable, high anchor: very strong)
    3. How familiar is the smell you are experiencing? (low anchor: completely unknown, high anchor: extremely familiar)
    4. Does the smell you are experiencing remind you of anything? If so, what?

    Measured: Measured 1-5 minutes after entering VR environment at Visit 2

Secondary outcomes (18)

  1. Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance (PAD) Survey Baseline Visit 1

    Survey answered on a tablet; participant rates the following questions on a 1-9 scale, with 9 being a stronger feeling of the stated emotion.

    1. How would you rate the level of pleasure you are experiencing currently?
    2. How would you rate your current level of arousal (a state of excitement linked to an emotion)? 3 How would you rate the extent to which the emotion makes you feel you are in control of the situation?

    Measured: Measured 5-10 minutes prior to entering VR environment at Visit 1

  2. Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance (PAD) Survey Baseline Visit 2

    Survey answered on a tablet; participant rates the following questions on a 1-9 scale, with 9 being a stronger feeling of the stated emotion.

    1. How would you rate the level of pleasure you are experiencing currently?
    2. How would you rate your current level of arousal (a state of excitement linked to an emotion)? 3 How would you rate the extent to which the emotion makes you feel you are in control of the situation?

    Measured: Measured 5-10 minutes prior to entering VR environment at Visit 2

  3. Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance (PAD) Survey Post VR Visit 1

    Survey answered on a tablet; Participant is prompted with the following input: Imagine you are in the space you saw when wearing the headset. You are there after a long day's work. Now, how does the architectural space in the image make you feel?

    Scale of 1-9. A higher score indicates a stronger feeling in that dimension.

    1. How would you rate the level of pleasure you experienced in this space?
    2. How would you rate the level of arousal (a state of excitement linked to an emotion) you experienced in this space? 3 How would you rate the extent to which the emotion makes you feel you are in control of the situation?

    Measured: Measured 1-5 minutes after entering VR environment at Visit 1

  4. Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance (PAD) Survey Post VR Visit 2

    Survey answered on a tablet; Participant is prompted with the following input: Imagine you are in the space you saw when wearing the headset. You are there after a long day's work. Now, how does the architectural space in the image make you feel?

    Scale of 1-9. A higher score indicates a stronger feeling in that dimension.

    1. How would you rate the level of pleasure you experienced in this space?
    2. How would you rate the level of arousal (a state of excitement linked to an emotion) you experienced in this space? 3 How would you rate the extent to which the emotion makes you feel you are in control of the situation?

    Measured: Measured 1-5 minutes after entering VR environment at Visit 2

  5. Positive Affect Negative Affect Survey (PANAS) Baseline Visit 1

    Survey is taken on a tablet; Participant responds according to how much they are feeling that emotion at that moment with a 1-5 scale (1 is not at all and 5 is extremely).

    1. Interested
    2. Distressed
    3. Excited
    4. Upset
    5. Strong
    6. Guilty
    7. Scared
    8. Hostile
    9. Enthusiastic
    10. Proud
    11. Irritable
    12. Alert
    13. Ashamed
    14. Inspired
    15. Nervous
    16. Determined
    17. Attentive
    18. Jittery
    19. Active
    20. Afraid

    Measured: Measured 5-10 minutes prior to entering VR environment at Visit 1

  6. Positive Affect Negative Affect Survey (PANAS) Baseline Visit 2

    Survey is taken on a tablet; Participant responds according to how much they are feeling that emotion at that moment with a 1-5 scale (1 is not at all and 5 is extremely).

    1. Interested
    2. Distressed
    3. Excited
    4. Upset
    5. Strong
    6. Guilty
    7. Scared
    8. Hostile
    9. Enthusiastic
    10. Proud
    11. Irritable
    12. Alert
    13. Ashamed
    14. Inspired
    15. Nervous
    16. Determined
    17. Attentive
    18. Jittery
    19. Active
    20. Afraid

    Measured: Measured 5-10 minutes prior to entering VR environment at Visit 2

  7. Positive Affect Negative Affect Survey (PANAS) Post-VR Visit 1

    Survey is taken on a tablet; Participant responds according to how much they are feeling that emotion in response to the VR space with a 1-5 scale (1 is not at all and 5 is extremely).

    1. Interested
    2. Distressed
    3. Excited
    4. Upset
    5. Strong
    6. Guilty
    7. Scared
    8. Hostile
    9. Enthusiastic
    10. Proud
    11. Irritable
    12. Alert
    13. Ashamed
    14. Inspired
    15. Nervous
    16. Determined
    17. Attentive
    18. Jittery
    19. Active
    20. Afraid

    Measured: Measured 1-5 minutes after entering VR environment at Visit 1

  8. Positive Affect Negative Affect Survey (PANAS) Post-VR Visit 2

    Survey is taken on a tablet; Participant responds according to how much they are feeling that emotion in response to the VR space with a 1-5 scale (1 is not at all and 5 is extremely).

    1. Interested
    2. Distressed
    3. Excited
    4. Upset
    5. Strong
    6. Guilty
    7. Scared
    8. Hostile
    9. Enthusiastic
    10. Proud
    11. Irritable
    12. Alert
    13. Ashamed
    14. Inspired
    15. Nervous
    16. Determined
    17. Attentive
    18. Jittery
    19. Active
    20. Afraid

    Measured: Measured 1-5 minutes after entering VR environment at Visit 2

  9. State Anxiety Inventory (SAI) Baseline Visit 1

    Answered on a tablet; Read each statement and select the appropriate response to indicate how you feel right now, that is, at this very moment. Do not spend too much time on any one statement, but give the answer which seems to describe your present feelings best.

    Answered on a 1-4 scale:

    1 Not at all 2 A little 3 Somewhat 4 Very Much So

    1. I feel calm
    2. I feel secure
    3. I feel tense
    4. I feel strained
    5. I feel at ease
    6. I feel upset
    7. I am presently worrying over possible misfortunes
    8. I feel satisfied
    9. I feel frightened
    10. I feel uncomfortable
    11. I feel self confident
    12. I feel nervous
    13. I feel jittery
    14. I feel indecisive
    15. I am relaxed
    16. I feel content
    17. I am worried
    18. I feel confused
    19. I feel steady
    20. I feel pleasant

    Measured: Measured 5-10 minutes prior to entering VR environment at Visit 1

  10. State Anxiety Inventory (SAI) Baseline Visit 2

    Answered on a tablet; Read each statement and select the appropriate response to indicate how you feel right now, that is, at this very moment. Do not spend too much time on any one statement, but give the answer which seems to describe your present feelings best.

    Answered on a 1-4 scale:

    1 Not at all 2 A little 3 Somewhat 4 Very Much So

    1. I feel calm
    2. I feel secure
    3. I feel tense
    4. I feel strained
    5. I feel at ease
    6. I feel upset
    7. I am presently worrying over possible misfortunes
    8. I feel satisfied
    9. I feel frightened
    10. I feel uncomfortable
    11. I feel self confident
    12. I feel nervous
    13. I feel jittery
    14. I feel indecisive
    15. I am relaxed
    16. I feel content
    17. I am worried
    18. I feel confused
    19. I feel steady
    20. I feel pleasant

    Measured: Measured 5-10 minutes prior to entering VR environment at Visit 2

  11. State Anxiety Inventory (SAI) Post-VR Visit 1

    Answered on a tablet; Read each statement and select the appropriate response to indicate how you feel right now, that is, at this very moment. Do not spend too much time on any one statement, but give the answer which seems to describe your present feelings best.

    Answered on a 1-4 scale:

    1 Not at all 2 A little 3 Somewhat 4 Very Much So

    1. I feel calm
    2. I feel secure
    3. I feel tense
    4. I feel strained
    5. I feel at ease
    6. I feel upset
    7. I am presently worrying over possible misfortunes
    8. I feel satisfied
    9. I feel frightened
    10. I feel uncomfortable
    11. I feel self confident
    12. I feel nervous
    13. I feel jittery
    14. I feel indecisive
    15. I am relaxed
    16. I feel content
    17. I am worried
    18. I feel confused
    19. I feel steady
    20. I feel pleasant

    Measured: Measured 1-5 minutes after entering VR environment at Visit 1

  12. State Anxiety Inventory (SAI) Post-VR Visit 2

    Answered on a tablet; Read each statement and select the appropriate response to indicate how you feel right now, that is, at this very moment. Do not spend too much time on any one statement, but give the answer which seems to describe your present feelings best.

    Answered on a 1-4 scale:

    1 Not at all 2 A little 3 Somewhat 4 Very Much So

    1. I feel calm
    2. I feel secure
    3. I feel tense
    4. I feel strained
    5. I feel at ease
    6. I feel upset
    7. I am presently worrying over possible misfortunes
    8. I feel satisfied
    9. I feel frightened
    10. I feel uncomfortable
    11. I feel self confident
    12. I feel nervous
    13. I feel jittery
    14. I feel indecisive
    15. I am relaxed
    16. I feel content
    17. I am worried
    18. I feel confused
    19. I feel steady
    20. I feel pleasant

    Measured: Measured 1-5 minutes after entering VR environment at Visit 2

  13. Affect and Spatial Experience Scale (ASE)

    Answered on a tablet; Participants rate their experience with the virtual reality environment on a -10 to 10 scale with opposite descriptors on either end of the scale and 10 being the most like the stated attribute

    1. Pleasantness: unpleasant vs. pleasant
    2. Liveliness: Lifeless vs. lively
    3. Beauty: ugly vs. beautiful
    4. Familiarity: Unfamiliar vs. familiar
    5. Excitement: not exciting vs. exciting
    6. Novelty: Traditional vs. novel
    7. Spaciousness: narrow vs. spacious
    8. Simplicity: Complex vs. simple
    9. Enclosure: Open vs. closed
    10. Order: Chaotic vs. ordered
    11. Lightness: Overwhelming vs. light
    12. Harmony: Not harmonious vs. harmonious
    13. Calmness: Stressful vs. calming
    14. Warmth: Cold vs. warm
    15. Brightness: Dark vs. bright
    16. Experience: Bad vs. good
    17. Comfort: Uncomfortable vs. comfortable
    18. Naturalness: Artificial vs. natural
    19. Cheerfulness: Depressing vs. cheerful
    20. Symmetry: Asymmetrical vs. symmetrical

    Measured: Measured 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption and VR experience at visit 1

  14. VR Presence Questionnaire Visit 1

    Answered on a tablet; participants marked on a visual analog scale from 0-100 how they felt in the VR with 0 being not at all and 100 being very much

    1. In the virtual world, I had a sense of "being there"
    2. I felt that the virtual world surrounded me.
    3. I felt like I was just perceiving pictures.
    4. I did not feel present in the virtual space.
    5. I had a sense of acting in the virtual space, rather than operating something from outside.
    6. I felt present in the virtual space.
    7. How aware were you of the real world surrounding while navigating in the virtual world? (i.e. sounds, room temperature, other people, etc.)?
    8. I was not aware of my real environment.
    9. I still paid attention to the real environment.
    10. I was completely captivated by the virtual world.
    11. How real did the virtual world seem to you?
    12. How much did your experience in the virtual environment seem consistent with your real world experience ?

    Measured: Measured once 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption and the VR experience at visit 1

  15. VR Presence Questionnaire Visit 2

    Answered on a tablet; participants marked on a visual analog scale from 0-100 how they felt in the VR with 0 being not at all and 100 being very much

    1. In the virtual world, I had a sense of "being there"
    2. I felt that the virtual world surrounded me.
    3. I felt like I was just perceiving pictures.
    4. I did not feel present in the virtual space.
    5. I had a sense of acting in the virtual space, rather than operating something from outside.
    6. I felt present in the virtual space.
    7. How aware were you of the real world surrounding while navigating in the virtual world? (i.e. sounds, room temperature, other people, etc.)?
    8. I was not aware of my real environment.
    9. I still paid attention to the real environment.
    10. I was completely captivated by the virtual world.
    11. How real did the virtual world seem to you?
    12. How much did your experience in the virtual environment seem consistent with your real world experience ?

    Measured: Measured once 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption and the VR experience at visit 2

  16. VR Preference Questionnaire Visit 1

    Answered on a tablet; Participants would rank on a 0-8 point scale: for question 1-None, a few minutes, half an hour, one hour, a few hours, a day, a few days, many many days; for questions 2-5-not at all, very slight, slight, slight to moderate, moderate, much, very much, extremely so

    1. How much time would you like to spend in the virtual environment?
    2. How much would you try to leave or get out of this place?
    3. How much would you enjoy exploring around?
    4. How much would you avoid any looking around or exploration of the space?
    5. How much would you choose to enter this eating environment?

    Measured: Measured once 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption and the VR experience at visit 1

  17. VR Preference Questionnaire Visit 2

    Answered on a tablet; Participants would rank on a 0-8 point scale: for question 1-None, a few minutes, half an hour, one hour, a few hours, a day, a few days, many many days; for questions 2-5-not at all, very slight, slight, slight to moderate, moderate, much, very much, extremely so

    1. How much time would you like to spend in the virtual environment?
    2. How much would you try to leave or get out of this place?
    3. How much would you enjoy exploring around?
    4. How much would you avoid any looking around or exploration of the space?
    5. How much would you choose to enter this eating environment?

    Measured: Measured once 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption and the VR experience at visit 2

  18. Hair Cortisol

    The 3-month concentration of cortisol in the participant's hair will be recorded in picograms per milligram--higher values mean higher stress over the past 3 months.

    Measured: Measured once 15 minutes prior to entering VR environment at Visit 1

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted28 Oct 2024
  2. Study start15 Dec 2024
  3. Primary completion1 Aug 2025
  4. Study completion1 Aug 2025

Resources

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
Other
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Crossover
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
25 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT06662149
Sponsor's protocol ID
STUDY00025849
Status last verified
Sep 2025
First submitted
22 Oct 2024
Last updated
4 Sep 2025
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Pleasant Smell and Unpleasant Smell in people with Healthy, run by Penn State University at 1 site in United States.

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 9 inclusion and 9 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: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 4 Sep 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 United States. 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. 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?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Food Intake Day 1 (time frame: Measured once 5-10 minutes after the end of meal consumption). The study lists 6 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT06662149.

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 4 Sep 2025.

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