Eating BehaviorNCT07290179
Evaluating the Validity and Feasibility of a Smartwatch-based Eating Detection System to Passively and Automatically Detect Eating Events in Child-parent Dyads
An observational study of Eating Behavior, run by Pennington Biomedical Research Center at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This study will test the validity and feasibility of an smartwatch-based system to detect eating and drinking events in both laboratory and free-living conditions. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 8 to 12 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Eating Behavior
- What is being tested?
- Smartwatch and EMA-based eating behavior tracking
- How many people
- 35 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 10 Jun 2026to Dec 2026
- Phase
- Observational
- 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 8 to 12 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child
Study population: A sample of 35 dyads (35 parents and their 8-12 years old children) will be recruited from the Baton Rouge, LA area.
Who may be able to join
- Parents or caregivers (18-70 years) who have children aged 8-12 years
- Child is willing and able to wear smartwatch during school hours (have not restrictions in the school setting)
Who cannot join
- Any condition or circumstance that could impede study completion
- Child does not follow a regular eating pattern
- Child eats less than 1 meal and 1 snack in a day
- Child is restricted or allergic to the study foods
- Refusal or unable to use the smartwatch to collect data for the 3-day period in free - living conditions
- Parental refusal or unable to respond Ecological Momentary Assessment prompts
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70808
Hanim E Diktas, PhD
About this study
This study will test the validity and feasibility of an smartwatch-based system to detect eating and drinking events in both laboratory and free-living conditions.
Read the detailed description
The study will: 1) determine whether the smartwatch-based system accurately detects eating events in child-parent dyads in controlled settings and 2) evaluate the feasibility and practicality of passively detecting eating events in child-parent dyads over 3 days in free-living settings. The study will include two phases. During the laboratory visit, child-parent dyads will wear the smartwatch on their dominant hand and perform activities including eating gestures. These activities will be recorded with a video camera, and the videos will be coded for the ground truth times of eating. In the second phase of the study, child-parent dyads will continue wearing the smartwatch for 3 more days in free-living conditions. In the free-living period, parents will receive personalized Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) prompts reminding them to activate the smartwatch.
- Conditions
- Eating Behavior
- Being tested
- Smartwatch and EMA-based eating behavior tracking
- Medical subject headings
- Feeding Behavior
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Smartwatch and EMA-based eating behavior trackingOther
Participants (child-parent dyads) will wear a smartwatch on their dominant hand during a laboratory session and for three days in free-living conditions. In the lab, dyads will perform eating-related activities (e.g., eating with utensils, eating with hands, drinking) and non-eating activities (e.g., walking, writing, brushing teeth) while being video recorded for ground truth validation. Parents will receive a 20-minute training on using Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) prompts to record meal and snack times and will respond to EMA reminders during the free-living period. Adherence will be monitored through smartwatch wear time and EMA response rates.
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Accuracy and Performance of Smartwatch-based Eating Detection System in Controlled Conditions
Accuracy and performance of smartwatch-based system for detecting eating and drinking events compared to video-coded ground truth during a controlled laboratory conditions. Metrics include:
Precision (proportion of correctly detected eating events among all detected events), Recall/Sensitivity (proportion of actual eating events detected), Specificity (proportion of non-eating events correctly identified as non-eating) F1-score (harmonic mean of precision and recall), Overall accuracy (proportion of correct classification).
Measured: During the controlled laboratory session (Day 1).
Adherence to Smartwatch Protocol
Proportion of families meeting adherence criteria, defined as both parent and child wearing the smartwatch during eating on at least 2 of 3 days and the parent responding to ≥75% of EMA prompts related to smartwatch charging and app functionality.
Measured: During the free-living phase (Days 2-4).
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted18 Dec 2025
- Study start10 Jun 2026
- Primary completionNov 2026 (estimated)
- Study completionDec 2026 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Eating BehaviorStudies 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
- Observational
- Observational model
- Cohort
- Time perspective
- Cross-sectional
- Enrolment
- 35 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Pennington Biomedical Research Center
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Hanim Diktas, Pennington Biomedical Research Center
- Investigators
- Hanim E Diktas, PhD, Principal investigator, Pennington Biomedical Research Center
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07290179
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- PBRC 2025-029
- Status last verified
- Jun 2026
- First submitted
- 6 Dec 2025
- Last updated
- 11 Jun 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 11 Jun 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Evaluating the Validity and Feasibility of a Smartwatch-based Eating Detection System to Passively and Automatically Detect Eating Events in Child-parent Dyads
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07290179
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- PBRC 2025-029
- Conditions
- Eating Behavior
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 35 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Pennington Biomedical Research CenterUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 10 Jun 2026 (actual)
- Primary completion
- Nov 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion
- Dec 2026 (estimated)
- First posted
- 18 Dec 2025 (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 will test the validity and feasibility of an smartwatch-based system to detect eating and drinking events in both laboratory and free-living conditions.
Detailed description
The study will: 1) determine whether the smartwatch-based system accurately detects eating events in child-parent dyads in controlled settings and 2) evaluate the feasibility and practicality of passively detecting eating events in child-parent dyads over 3 days in free-living settings. The study will include two phases. During the laboratory visit, child-parent dyads will wear the smartwatch on their dominant hand and perform activities including eating gestures. These activities will be recorded with a video camera, and the videos will be coded for the ground truth times of eating. In the second phase of the study, child-parent dyads will continue wearing the smartwatch for 3 more days in free-living conditions. In the free-living period, parents will receive personalized Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) prompts reminding them to activate the smartwatch.
Study design
- Observational model
- Cohort
- Time perspective
- Cross-sectional
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 8 to 12 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child
- Study population
- A sample of 35 dyads (35 parents and their 8-12 years old children) will be recruited from the Baton Rouge, LA area.
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Parents or caregivers (18-70 years) who have children aged 8-12 years
- Child is willing and able to wear smartwatch during school hours (have not restrictions in the school setting)
Key exclusion criteria (6 listed)
- Any condition or circumstance that could impede study completion
- Child does not follow a regular eating pattern
- Child eats less than 1 meal and 1 snack in a day
- Child is restricted or allergic to the study foods
- Refusal or unable to use the smartwatch to collect data for the 3-day period in free - living conditions
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Smartwatch and EMA-based eating behavior trackingParticipants (child-parent dyads) will wear a smartwatch on their dominant hand during a laboratory session and for three days in free-living conditions. In the lab, dyads will perform eating-related activities (e.g., eating with utensils, eating with hands, drinking) and non-eating activities (e.g., walking, writing, brushing teeth) while being video recorded for ground truth validation. Parents will receive a 20-minute training on using Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) prompts to record meal and snack times and will respond to EMA reminders during the free-living period. Adherence will be monitored through smartwatch wear time and EMA response rates. | Other | – |
Primary outcome
Accuracy and Performance of Smartwatch-based Eating Detection System in Controlled Conditions
Time frame: During the controlled laboratory session (Day 1).
Accuracy and performance of smartwatch-based system for detecting eating and drinking events compared to video-coded ground truth during a controlled laboratory conditions. Metrics include: Precision (proportion of correctly detected eating events among all detected events), Recall/Sensitivity (proportion of actual eating events detected), Specificity (proportion of non-eating events correctly identified as non-eating) F1-score (harmonic mean of precision and recall), Overall accuracy (proportion of correct classification).
Adherence to Smartwatch Protocol
Time frame: During the free-living phase (Days 2-4).
Proportion of families meeting adherence criteria, defined as both parent and child wearing the smartwatch during eating on at least 2 of 3 days and the parent responding to ≥75% of EMA prompts related to smartwatch charging and app functionality.
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 11 Jun 2026.
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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.
Hanim E Diktas, PhD principal investigator
Pennington Biomedical Research Center
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
An observational study of Eating Behavior, run by Pennington Biomedical Research Center 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 2 inclusion and 6 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 11 Jun 2026. 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?
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 Hanim E Diktas, PhD ((225) 763-2832, hanim.diktas@pbrc.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Accuracy and Performance of Smartwatch-based Eating Detection System in Controlled Conditions (time frame: During the controlled laboratory session (Day 1).). 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 11 Jun 2026.