Portion size affects food selection in an immersive virtual reality buffet and is related to measured intake in laboratory meals varying in portion size.

A crucial step for validating the utility of an immersive virtual reality (iVR) buffet to study eating behavior is to determine whether variations in food characteristics such as portion size (PS) are relevant predictors of food selection in an iVR buffet. We tested whether manipulating PS in an iVR buffet affects the weight of food selected, and whether this response to PS is similar to participants' measured intake when PS varies at laboratory meals. In a randomized crossover design, 91 adults (18-71 y; 64 females; BMI = 25.3 ± 5.7) used their iVR remote to select lunch and dinner portions from an iVR buffet before consuming a standardized lab meal at two visits separated by one week. The PS in the iVR buffet and lab meals varied between a standard PS and a large PS. This design enabled comparisons of PS effects between iVR and lab settings, despite the scale difference in food weight between the environments. Portion size significantly affected food selection and food intake (p < 0.001). Subjects selected an additional 350 g in iVR and consumed an additional 154 g of food in the lab meals when offered the large portion compared to the small portion. The effect of PS showed a similar percentage increase in iVR (36.5%) and lab meals (39.2%). There was no significant difference in the effect of PS between iVR and lab meals after accounting for scale differences in food weight between the environments. The response to PS was not influenced by subject characteristics such as body mass index, sex, or age. These results demonstrate the utility of iVR for replicating real-world eating behaviors and enhancing our understanding of the intricate dynamics of food-related behaviors in a variety of contexts.

Validation of a Virtual Reality Buffet environment to assess food selection processes among emerging adults.

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.