title: The effect of real-time vibrotactile feedback delivered through an augmented fork on eating rate, satiation, and food intake.
abstract: Eating rate is a basic determinant of appetite regulation, as people who eat more slowly feel sated earlier and eat less. Without assistance, eating rate is difficult to modify due to its automatic nature. In the current study, participants used an augmented fork that aimed to decelerate their rate of eating. A total of 114 participants were randomly assigned to the Feedback Condition (FC), in which they received vibrotactile feedback from their fork when eating too fast (i.e., taking more than one bite per 10 s), or a Non-Feedback Condition (NFC). Participants in the FC took fewer bites per minute than did those in the NFC. Participants in the FC also had a higher success ratio, indicating that they had significantly more bites outside the designated time interval of 10 s than did participants in the NFC. A slower eating rate, however, did not lead to a significant reduction in the amount of food consumed or level of satiation. These findings indicate that real-time vibrotactile feedback delivered through an augmented fork is capable of reducing eating rate, but there is no evidence from this study that this reduction in eating rate is translated into an increase in satiation or reduction in food consumption. Overall, this study shows that real-time vibrotactile feedback may be a viable tool in interventions that aim to reduce eating rate. The long-term effectiveness of this form of feedback on satiation and food consumption, however, awaits further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: r.hermans@bsi.ru.nl.
authors.forename: Roel C J
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Hermans
authors.affiliation: Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: sander.hermsen@hu.nl.
authors.forename: Sander
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hermsen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology, Health, and Society, University of Liverpool, UK. Electronic address: eric.robinson@liverpool.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, UK. Electronic address: s.higgs.1@bham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Higgs
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: monica.mars@wur.nl.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mars
authors.affiliation: The Caregiver Network, Montréal, QC, Canada. Electronic address: jeana@lratcn.ca.
authors.forename: Jeana H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Frost
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001069:Appetite Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D003297:Cooking and Eating Utensils; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology*; D056228:Feedback, Sensory / Q000502:physiology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012527:Satiation / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D055698:Touch Perception; D014732:Vibration; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Digital technology; Eating rate; Food intake; Satiety; Vibrotactile feedback