Trial reportPloS one2018
The effects of a gamified approach avoidance training and verbal suggestions on food outcomes.
Trial report in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Behavioural and cognitive changes in young adults towards food and nutrition after exposure to digital food communication: a mixed-methods systematic review.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2025Pooled it
- Trial
- Effectiveness of a smartphone-delivered Approach-Avoidance intervention in dietary behavior - a randomized controlled trial.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2025Trial
- Increasing the Effectiveness of a Physical Activity Smartphone Intervention With Positive Suggestions: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Trial
- An Internet-Based Psychological Intervention With a Serious Game to Improve Vitality, Psychological and Physical Condition, and Immune Function in Healthy Male Adults: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Trial
- Perspectives of Australian healthcare professionals towards gamification in practice.Nutrition & dietetics : the journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia · 2025Article
- The Effect of Expectations on Experiences and Engagement with an Applied Game for Mental Health.Games for health journal · 2021Article
- A Systematic Review Of Implicit Attitudes And Their Neural Correlates In Eating Behaviour.Social cognitive and affective neuroscience · 2020Article
- Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
There is initial support for the effectiveness of approach-avoidance trainings in altering food-related health behaviors. Furthermore, outcome expectancies induced by verbal suggestions might optimize the effectiveness of these interventions, as shown in placebo research. The present study investigated the effectiveness of a gamified approach-avoidance training on food-related outcomes and whether verbal suggestions could strengthen those effects. A total of 120 participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions: serious gaming only, verbal suggestions only, serious gaming combined with verbal suggestions, or a gaming control condition. Virtual food preference and food choice were assessed with a food choice task, with pairs differing in healthiness or in healthiness and attractiveness. Implicit food preference was assessed with an Implicit Association Test and food intake with a bogus taste test. Participants in both serious gaming conditions made healthier food choices for pairs differing in healthiness and attractiveness and had healthier implicit food preferences compared to gaming control. No effects were found on food intake. These findings provide the first preliminary support for the effects of a gamified approach-avoidance training on virtual food choice and implicit food preference. Future studies should further elucidate these effects, also in other health domains such as physical activity.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.