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Dr. Tracey Ledoux's Research Featured in News Media.

HHP faculty Dr. Tracey Ledoux's research on food addictions has recently been featured in various news media. The project involves the use of virtual reality where participants will wear a virtual reality helmet to enter a real world restaurant with all the sounds, sights and smells. A joystick will allow them to walk to a buffet, encounter waitstaff and other patrons.

Click on the image below to see a segment the Canadian news network, Global News.

UH News

UH news featured Dr. Ledoux in an article titled "Researchers Use Virtual Reality to Investigate, Assess Food Addictions"

Lisa Alastuey
Dr. Ledoux

 

An excerpt from the article:

“There is a growing body of research that shows that consumption of palatable food stimulates the same reward and motivation centers of the brain that recognized addictive drugs do,” Ledoux said. “These cravings are related to overeating, unsuccessful weight loss and obesity.”

Ledoux and Professor Patrick Bordnick, director of the UH Graduate College of Social Work’s Virtual Reality Lab, will use virtual environments to try to induce food cravings. Bordnick’s body of research has focused on addictive behaviors and phobias and has used virtual reality as a tool to assess and treat them. 

Read the article on the UH News website

The Daily Cougar

The Daily Cougar also published a feature on Dr. Ledoux's research titled "Virtual views for obesity research"

An excerpt from the Daily Cougar article:

Tracey Ledoux, associate professor of health and human performance, and Professor Patrick Bordnick, director of the UH Graduate College of Social Work, will be using a virtual reality lab to spark food cravings among participants in order to study their food addictions.

“Food cravings are intense urges to consume specific foods regardless of physical hunger. They have been shown to be related to eating in the absence of hunger, weight, and unsuccessful weight loss attempts. Food cravings are typically for energy dense palatable food items,” Ledoux said. “Obesity has become a global public health crisis and most efforts have not been sustainable. Finding causes, such as food cravings, for overeating is vital to addressing this problem more effectively.”

Read the article on the Daily Cougar website