The Young Adults' Experiences With Virtual Reality (YAES VR) Study
NYU Langone Health
200 participants
Nov 13, 2025
INTERVENTIONAL
Conditions
Summary
The purpose of this study is to test the effect of virtual reality (VR) food marketing exposure (versus VR non-food control) on snack consumption, purchase intention, hunger, and arousal in black and white young adults. Participants will be randomized to either the VR food marketing condition or VR non-food control. Study participation duration will be 2 hours during a one-time, single visit.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria7
- years old;
- self-identify as Black or white in order to determine racial/ethnic differences in responses to unhealthy VR-based food and beverage marketing;
- self-report normal or corrected-to-normal vision from glasses or contacts;
- self-report comfort and ability to walk around within a VR paradigm;
- able to read, write, understand, and respond to all study materials (including the VR paradigm) in English
- residing in the NYC-metropolitan area in order to be available for in-person study
- capacity and willingness to provide consent
Exclusion Criteria6
- report a history of disorders causing motion sickness or have a history of significant motion sickness, which could be triggered within the VR paradigm
- self-report dietary restriction, such as food allergies or veganism, which may lead to different effects when exposed to food marketing;
- Self-report disliking 50% or more of the snacks that will be offered during the laboratory test snack as determined by a score of 5 or less on the food preferences questionnaire, which may have a confounding effect on consumption;
- report being pregnant or breastfeeding, which may affect hunger;
- smoke or consume tobacco, which decreases salivary flow; or
- self-report being very hungry based on 100 mm VAS hunger rating, which minimizes the burden to participants to fast prior to the visit and maximizes the ability to detect differences between groups.Those excluded for being very hungry will have the option of returning to the visit on a different day.
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Interventions
In the Wendyverse VR application ("app") participants can order from a Wendy's restaurant, play games, meet with others who may be visiting the Wendyverse, and access codes that can be used to obtain free food at physical restaurants.
In Nikeland VR app, participants can play sports, try on apparel, and engage with celebrity athletes.
Locations(1)
View Full Details on ClinicalTrials.gov
For the most up-to-date information, visit the official listing.
NCT06917391