Clinical efficacy of a virtual reality tool for the treatment of obesity: study protocol of a randomised controlled trial

Abstract

IntroductionPrevious research has shown that it is feasible to integrate motivational interviewing techniques with behavioural and psychological interventions for the treatment of obesity. Moreover, these combined interventions have the potential to improve health-related outcomes of people living with obesity (PLWO) and to afford maintenance of behavioural changes over time. In addition, the use of virtual reality (VR) embodiment techniques in the treatment of eating disorders and obesity has promising preliminary effectiveness. The objective of this study is to assess the clinical efficacy of a VR intervention that uses embodiment and body-swapping techniques and has been specifically developed to cover the needs of PLWO.Methods and analysisA randomised control trial will be carried out with an estimated sample of 96 participants with body mass index (BMI)>30. The whole duration of the trial will be 12 months. Participants will be recruited from the external consultations of the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital and be randomly assigned to three groups. The experimental group 1 will engage in a virtual self-conversation using the ConVRself platform, the experimental group 2 will participate in a ‘pre-established discourse’ provided by the virtual counsellor, who will give psychoeducation advice, and the control group will continue with treatment as usual. Readiness to change, BMI, eating habits and physical activity, psychological well-being, body image satisfaction, quality of life in relation to body image, and weight bias internalisation will be assessed at baseline, post intervention, 1-week and 4-week follow-up. Finally, variables related to adherence and satisfaction with the VR tool will be evaluated for the experimental groups.Ethics and disseminationThis study was approved by the Research Projects Committee of the Vall d’Hebron University Hospital. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals, reports to the funding body, conferences and other events for the scientific and clinical community, and the general public.Trial registration numberNCT05094557.

Virtual self-conversation using motivational interviewing techniques to promote healthy eating and physical activity: A usability study

“…The basic goal of the training was to help participants organize their future self-conversation so they would be able to guide themselves through a discourse of change based on their values and interests. More details about the contents of the training can be found in the protocol study ( 27 ) while the behavioral change techniques used in the intervention can be found in Table 1 .…”

“…All inclusion and exclusion criteria were assessed through an initial clinical interview by clinical researchers of the team. More detailed information about this procedure can be found in the publication of the RCT protocol ( 27 ).…”

“…We also hypothesize that participants of the EG would increase more their motivation to enhance with healthy lifestyle habits through the motivational self-conversation compared to the CG, while the same levels of body ownership would be expected between groups. This is a preliminary study before the start of the SOCRATES clinical trial, which is running throughout 2022 and whose protocol has been published recently ( 27 ).…”

Effects of virtual reality interventions on weight loss: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Additionally, VR can be leveraged as a treatment tool to support behavior modi cation and promote healthy eating habits by reinforcing these goals in lifelike virtual scenarios. Moreover, VR has been applied in treating eating disorders (EDs) and obesity, leading to decreased food cravings, better body image, and improved emotion regulation abilities (13). Anastasiadou et al (14), also found that VR can aid individuals with obesity by boosting their readiness to change habits, increasing self-e cacy, and reducing dysfunctional eating behaviors and anxiety.…”