VR food ads make you hungry? new study investigates
NCT ID NCT06917391
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study looks at how virtual reality (VR) food marketing, like ordering from a Wendy's in the Wendyverse, affects snack eating, hunger, and buying intentions in Black and white young adults aged 18-24. Participants will spend about 2 hours in a single visit, experiencing either a VR food ad or a non-food VR game, then have snacks weighed and answer questions. The goal is to understand if VR food ads influence eating behavior differently across racial groups.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Virtual reality experiences (Wendyverse VR food marketing and Nikeland VR non-food marketing)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could reveal how VR food ads influence eating habits, helping shape future public health guidelines or marketing regulations.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage behavioral study with 200 participants, so results may not apply to broader populations. It measures short-term effects only, not long-term health outcomes.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
-
About 200 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
-
Nov 2025
- Expected to finish
-
Mar 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
-
18 to 24 years
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. 18-24 years old; 2. self-identify as Black or white in order to determine racial/ethnic differences in responses to unhealthy VR-based food and beverage marketing; 3. self-report normal or corrected-to-normal vision from glasses or contacts; 4. self-report comfort and ability to walk around within a VR paradigm; 5. able to read, write, understand, and respond to all study materials (including the VR paradigm) in English 6. residing in the NYC-metropolitan area in order to be available for in-person study 7. capacity and willingness to provide consent Exclusion Criteria: 1. report a history of disorders causing motion sickness or have a history of significant motion sickness, which could be triggered within the VR paradigm 2. self-report dietary restriction, such as food allergies or veganism, which may lead to different effects when exposed to food marketing; 3. 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; 4. report being pregnant or breastfeeding, which may affect hunger; 5. smoke or consume tobacco, which decreases salivary flow; or 6. 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.
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Population health are added.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
-
The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
-
The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
-
A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
NYU Langone Health
RECRUITINGNew York, New York, 10016, United States