Presenting author: Carli Liguori

Co-authors: Sharon M. Nickols-Richardson

Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition

Distracted eating is defined as the intentional consumption of a meal while engaged in a secondary activity to the extent that the significance or memory of the meal is diminished or forgotten entirely. It is well established that the engagement of extraneous activities while consuming a meal leads to increased intake; however, the long-term metabolic effects of this construct have not yet been fully examined. For the proposed randomized controlled crossover study, healthy adults aged 18-25 years will be recruited. Participants with food allergies, specific dietary restrictions, metabolic disorders, or gastrointestinal diseases will be excluded. Any participants exhibiting cognitive impairment will also be excluded to ensure that the integrity of the distraction mechanism is maintained. Eligible and consented participants will provide general demographic and health information and will complete the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ), Eating Inventory, and Zung Scale. Enrolled participants will then be randomized to begin with either the controlled condition (n=30) or the distracted condition (n=30). Each participant, regardless of condition, will be instructed to sleep for 8 hours the night before the session and fast for 10 hours prior to their scheduled testing time. Participants will be instructed not to exercise 48 hours before their testing session. In the distracted condition, participants will enter a private booth and be provided with a computer equipped with a visual distraction task. Investigators will provide each participant with a meal consisting of 20 Swiss cheese and spinach miniature quiche. Participants will consume the meal while executing the distraction task for 15 minutes. The control condition will mimic the experimental condition sans the distraction activity. Meal plates will be photographed and weighed before and after consumption to quantify intake. The participant wait for 30 minutes, after which finger prick blood samples will be collected. The following biochemical markers of metabolism will be analyzed: insulin, ghrelin, peptide-YY, and GLP-1. After blood collection, participants will be escorted to a second private booth where two snack food options, grapes and miniature chocolate chip cookies, will be available. They will be given 5 minutes to make a choice and consume the food. After 5 minutes, an investigator will return to provide the participant with the exit survey including Visual Analog Scales (VAS) to assess feelings of fullness and meal satisfaction, questions related to memory of the meal, and questions about regular breakfast habits. Investigators will remove the snack foods, and plates will be weighed and photographed. After the completion of the second testing session, standing height, body composition by bioelectrical impedance (body fat mass, body weight, body fat percentage), and blood pressure will be measured.