TY - JOUR
T1 - Validation of a Virtual Reality Buffet environment to assess food selection processes among emerging adults
AU - Cheah, Charissa S.L.
AU - Barman, Salih
AU - Vu, Kathy T.T.
AU - Jung, Sarah E.
AU - Mandalapu, Varun
AU - Masterson, Travis D.
AU - Zuber, Ryan J.
AU - Boot, Lee
AU - Gong, Jiaqi
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Imaging Research Center Summer Faculty Research Fellowship from the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences and the Office of the Vice President for Research, at UMBC.
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Imaging Research Center Summer Faculty Research Fellowship from the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences and the Office of the Vice President for Research, at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, awarded to the first author. Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Internal Review Board of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (Protocol #Y19CC20012 - Understanding Healthy Development in Young Adults).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2020/10/1
Y1 - 2020/10/1
N2 - Emerging adulthood is a critical developmental period for examining food- and eating-related behaviors as long-term weight-related behavioral patterns are established. Virtual reality (VR) technology is a promising tool for basic and applied research on eating and food-related processes. Thus, the present study tested the validity and user perceptions of a highly immersive and realistic VR food buffet by: (1) comparing participants' food selections made in the VR buffet and a real-world (RW) food buffet cafeteria one-week apart, and (2) assessing participants' rated perceptions of their VR experience (0–100 scale). Participants comprised an ethnically diverse sample of emerging adults (N = 35, Mage = 20.49, SD = 2.17). Results revealed that participants' food selections in the VR and RW food buffets were significantly and positively correlated in Kcals, grams, carbohydrates, and protein (all p's < 0.05). Moreover, participants perceived that: (a) the VR buffet was natural (M = 70.97, SD = 20.92), (b) their lunch selection in the VR buffet represented a lunch they would select on an average day (M = 84.11, SD = 15.92); and (c) their selection represented a lunch they would select if the same foods were available (M = 91.29, SD = 11.00). Our findings demonstrated the validity and acceptability of our highly immersive and realistic VR buffet for assessing food selection that is generalizable to RW food settings one-week apart without precisely matched foods. The findings of this study support the utility of VR as a validated tool for research on psychological and behavioral food-related processes and training interventions among emerging adults.
AB - Emerging adulthood is a critical developmental period for examining food- and eating-related behaviors as long-term weight-related behavioral patterns are established. Virtual reality (VR) technology is a promising tool for basic and applied research on eating and food-related processes. Thus, the present study tested the validity and user perceptions of a highly immersive and realistic VR food buffet by: (1) comparing participants' food selections made in the VR buffet and a real-world (RW) food buffet cafeteria one-week apart, and (2) assessing participants' rated perceptions of their VR experience (0–100 scale). Participants comprised an ethnically diverse sample of emerging adults (N = 35, Mage = 20.49, SD = 2.17). Results revealed that participants' food selections in the VR and RW food buffets were significantly and positively correlated in Kcals, grams, carbohydrates, and protein (all p's < 0.05). Moreover, participants perceived that: (a) the VR buffet was natural (M = 70.97, SD = 20.92), (b) their lunch selection in the VR buffet represented a lunch they would select on an average day (M = 84.11, SD = 15.92); and (c) their selection represented a lunch they would select if the same foods were available (M = 91.29, SD = 11.00). Our findings demonstrated the validity and acceptability of our highly immersive and realistic VR buffet for assessing food selection that is generalizable to RW food settings one-week apart without precisely matched foods. The findings of this study support the utility of VR as a validated tool for research on psychological and behavioral food-related processes and training interventions among emerging adults.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.appet.2020.104741
DO - 10.1016/j.appet.2020.104741
M3 - Article
C2 - 32445771
AN - SCOPUS:85085559744
SN - 0195-6663
VL - 153
JO - Appetite
JF - Appetite
M1 - 104741
ER -