Slide
Centre Interdisciplinaire
de Recherche et d’Innovation
en Cybersécurité et Société
de Recherche et d’Innovation
en Cybersécurité et Société
1.
Onita, C. A.; Matei, D. -V.; Chelarasu, E.; Lupu, R. G.; Petrescu-Miron, D.; Visnevschi, A.; Vudu, S.; Corciova, C.; Fuior, R.; Tupita, N.; Bouchard, S.; Mocanu, V.
In: Nutrients, vol. 17, no. 24, 2025, ISSN: 20726643 (ISSN).
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: acute stress, Adolescent, Adolescents, adult, article, controlled study, craving, decision making, Eating, eating behavior, ecological validity, electrocardiogram, electrocardiogram (ECG) parameters, Electrocardiography, feeding behavior, female, food craving, food preference, Food Preferences, Heart Rate, human, Humans, hyperphagia, male, mental stress, motivation, normal human, overnutrition, pathophysiology, Perceived Stress Scale, personalized nutrition, physiological stress, physiology, PQ interval, Psychological, psychology, QTc interval, questionnaire, reward, simulation, social stress, Stress, supermarket, Surveys and Questionnaires, three-factor eating questionnaire (TFEQ), Three-Factor-Eating-Questionnaire, Trier Social Stress Test, virtual reality, virtual supermarket, visual analog scale
@article{onita_virtual_2025,
title = {Virtual Reality Trier Social Stress and Virtual Supermarket Exposure: Electrocardiogram Correlates of Food Craving and Eating Traits in Adolescents},
author = {C. A. Onita and D. -V. Matei and E. Chelarasu and R. G. Lupu and D. Petrescu-Miron and A. Visnevschi and S. Vudu and C. Corciova and R. Fuior and N. Tupita and S. Bouchard and V. Mocanu},
url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-105026068857&doi=10.3390%2Fnu17243924&partnerID=40&md5=fde16e892b1a18284dc51ac869ba8ee9},
doi = {10.3390/nu17243924},
issn = {20726643 (ISSN)},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-01-01},
journal = {Nutrients},
volume = {17},
number = {24},
abstract = {Background/Objectives: Acute stress is known to influence food-related motivation and decision-making, often promoting a preference for energy-dense, palatable foods. However, traditional laboratory paradigms have limited ecological validity. This study examined the relationship between stress-induced physiological changes, eating behavior traits, and food cravings using a virtual reality (VR) adaptation of the Trier Social Stress Test (VR-TSST) followed by a VR supermarket task in adolescents. Methods: Thirty-eight adolescents (mean age 15.8 ± 0.6 years) participated in the study. Physiological parameters (HR, QT, PQ intervals) were recorded pre- and post-stress using a portable ECG device (WIWE). Perceived stress and eating behavior traits were evaluated with the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R21C), respectively. Immediately after the VR-TSST, participants performed a VR supermarket task in which they rated cravings for sweet, fatty, and healthy foods using visual analog scales (VAS). Paired-samples t-tests examined pre–post changes in physiological parameters, partial correlations explored associations between ECG responses and eating traits, and a 2 × 3 mixed-model Repeated Measures ANOVA assessed the effects of food type (sweet, fatty, healthy) and uncontrolled eating (UE) group (low vs. high) on post-stress cravings. Results: Acute stress induced significant increases in HR and QTc intervals (p < 0.01), confirming a robust physiological stress response. The ANOVA revealed a strong main effect of food type (F(1.93, 435.41) = 168.98, p < 0.001, η2p = 0.43), indicating that stress-induced cravings differed across food categories, with sweet foods rated highest. A significant food type × UE group interaction (F(1.93, 435.41) = 16.49, p < 0.001, η2p = 0.07) showed that adolescents with high UE exhibited greater cravings for sweet and fatty foods than those with low UE. Overall, craving levels did not differ significantly between groups. Conclusions: The findings demonstrate that acute stress selectively enhances cravings for high-reward foods, and that this effect is modulated by baseline uncontrolled eating tendencies. The combined use of VR-based stress induction and VR supermarket simulation offers an innovative, ecologically valid framework for studying stress-related eating behavior in adolescents, with potential implications for personalized nutrition and the prevention of stress-induced overeating. © 2025 by the authors.},
keywords = {acute stress, Adolescent, Adolescents, adult, article, controlled study, craving, decision making, Eating, eating behavior, ecological validity, electrocardiogram, electrocardiogram (ECG) parameters, Electrocardiography, feeding behavior, female, food craving, food preference, Food Preferences, Heart Rate, human, Humans, hyperphagia, male, mental stress, motivation, normal human, overnutrition, pathophysiology, Perceived Stress Scale, personalized nutrition, physiological stress, physiology, PQ interval, Psychological, psychology, QTc interval, questionnaire, reward, simulation, social stress, Stress, supermarket, Surveys and Questionnaires, three-factor eating questionnaire (TFEQ), Three-Factor-Eating-Questionnaire, Trier Social Stress Test, virtual reality, virtual supermarket, visual analog scale},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Background/Objectives: Acute stress is known to influence food-related motivation and decision-making, often promoting a preference for energy-dense, palatable foods. However, traditional laboratory paradigms have limited ecological validity. This study examined the relationship between stress-induced physiological changes, eating behavior traits, and food cravings using a virtual reality (VR) adaptation of the Trier Social Stress Test (VR-TSST) followed by a VR supermarket task in adolescents. Methods: Thirty-eight adolescents (mean age 15.8 ± 0.6 years) participated in the study. Physiological parameters (HR, QT, PQ intervals) were recorded pre- and post-stress using a portable ECG device (WIWE). Perceived stress and eating behavior traits were evaluated with the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R21C), respectively. Immediately after the VR-TSST, participants performed a VR supermarket task in which they rated cravings for sweet, fatty, and healthy foods using visual analog scales (VAS). Paired-samples t-tests examined pre–post changes in physiological parameters, partial correlations explored associations between ECG responses and eating traits, and a 2 × 3 mixed-model Repeated Measures ANOVA assessed the effects of food type (sweet, fatty, healthy) and uncontrolled eating (UE) group (low vs. high) on post-stress cravings. Results: Acute stress induced significant increases in HR and QTc intervals (p < 0.01), confirming a robust physiological stress response. The ANOVA revealed a strong main effect of food type (F(1.93, 435.41) = 168.98, p < 0.001, η2p = 0.43), indicating that stress-induced cravings differed across food categories, with sweet foods rated highest. A significant food type × UE group interaction (F(1.93, 435.41) = 16.49, p < 0.001, η2p = 0.07) showed that adolescents with high UE exhibited greater cravings for sweet and fatty foods than those with low UE. Overall, craving levels did not differ significantly between groups. Conclusions: The findings demonstrate that acute stress selectively enhances cravings for high-reward foods, and that this effect is modulated by baseline uncontrolled eating tendencies. The combined use of VR-based stress induction and VR supermarket simulation offers an innovative, ecologically valid framework for studying stress-related eating behavior in adolescents, with potential implications for personalized nutrition and the prevention of stress-induced overeating. © 2025 by the authors.