{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,21]],"date-time":"2026-05-21T18:34:14Z","timestamp":1779388454066,"version":"3.53.1"},"reference-count":24,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"20","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,19]],"date-time":"2023-10-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1697673600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000265","name":"Medical Research Council","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["MR\/V003283\/1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["MR\/V003283\/1"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000265","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"National Institute for Health","award":["MR\/V003283\/1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["MR\/V003283\/1"]}]},{"name":"Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)","award":["MR\/V003283\/1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["MR\/V003283\/1"]}]},{"name":"Ministry of National Education of T\u00fcrkiye","award":["MR\/V003283\/1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["MR\/V003283\/1"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The emotion of disgust is thought to play a critical role in maintaining restrictive eating among individuals with anorexia nervosa. This exploratory cross-sectional study examined correlations between food-specific trait and state disgust, eating disorder psychopathology, illness severity (body mass index: BMI), and interactions with virtual foods in people with anorexia nervosa. Food-specific trait disgust and eating disorder symptoms were measured before exposure to virtual foods in one of three virtual reality (VR) kitchens to which participants were randomly allocated. Food interactions (eye gaze and reaching towards virtual foods) were measured during the VR exposure. Food-specific state disgust ratings were collected after the VR exposure. In the entire sample, eating disorder symptoms correlated positively with food-specific trait disgust (rs (68) = 0.45, p &lt; 0.001). We also found a significant association between food-specific state disgust and eating disorder symptoms in each virtual kitchen scenario: virtual kitchen only (rs (22) = 0.40, p = 0.05), virtual kitchen plus pet (rs (22) = 0.80, p &lt; 0.001), and virtual kitchen plus avatar (rs (20) = 0.78, p &lt; 0.001). No significant correlation was observed for the link between food-specific disgust measures and food-related touch. Correlations between food-specific trait disgust and food-related eye gaze differed across scenarios. The current experimental paradigm needs to be improved to draw firm conclusions. Both food-specific trait and state disgust are associated with eating disorder psychopathology, and therefore, effective strategies are warranted to attenuate food-specific disgust.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu15204443","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,19]],"date-time":"2023-10-19T11:46:26Z","timestamp":1697715986000},"page":"4443","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":14,"title":["Exploring Correlations of Food-Specific Disgust with Eating Disorder Psychopathology and Food Interaction: A Preliminary Study Using Virtual Reality"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0613-5032","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sevgi","family":"Bektas","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Research in Eating and Weight Disorders (CREW), Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King\u2019s College London, London SE5 8AF, UK"},{"name":"Department of Psychology, Hacettepe University, Ankara 06800, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2152-8352","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ludovica","family":"Natali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, 35122 Padova, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9671-4344","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Katie","family":"Rowlands","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Research in Eating and Weight Disorders (CREW), Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King\u2019s College London, London SE5 8AF, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lucia","family":"Valmaggia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King\u2019s College London, London SE5 8AF, UK"},{"name":"South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London SE5 8AB, UK"},{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jerome","family":"Di Pietro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King\u2019s College London, London SE5 8AF, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9267-6283","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hiba","family":"Mutwalli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Research in Eating and Weight Disorders (CREW), Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King\u2019s College London, London SE5 8AF, UK"},{"name":"Department of Clinical Nutrition, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 34212, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1209-6073","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hubertus","family":"Himmerich","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Research in Eating and Weight Disorders (CREW), Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King\u2019s College London, London SE5 8AF, UK"},{"name":"South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London SE5 8AB, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Janet","family":"Treasure","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Research in Eating and Weight Disorders (CREW), Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King\u2019s College London, London SE5 8AF, UK"},{"name":"South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London SE5 8AB, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Valentina","family":"Cardi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Research in Eating and Weight Disorders (CREW), Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King\u2019s College London, London SE5 8AF, UK"},{"name":"Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, 35122 Padova, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"214","DOI":"10.1016\/j.appet.2010.05.090","article-title":"Pre-Meal Anxiety and Food Intake in Anorexia Nervosa","volume":"55","author":"Steinglass","year":"2010","journal-title":"Appetite"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bektas, S., Keeler, J.L., Anderson, L.M., Mutwalli, H., Himmerich, H., and Treasure, J. (2022). Disgust and Self-Disgust in Eating Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/nu14091728"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.1002\/eat.22998","article-title":"Eye-Tracking Research in Eating Disorders: A Systematic Review","volume":"52","author":"Harrison","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int. J. Eat. Disord."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1377","DOI":"10.1002\/eat.23560","article-title":"Attentional Bias in Eating disorders: A Meta-Review","volume":"54","author":"Stott","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int. J. Eat. Disord."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e01458","DOI":"10.1002\/brb3.1458","article-title":"A Systematic and Methodological Review of Attentional Biases in Eating Disorders: Food, Body, and Perfectionism","volume":"9","author":"Margaret","year":"2019","journal-title":"Brain Behav."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"30","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cpr.2018.06.002","article-title":"Cognitive Mechanisms of Disgust in The Development and Maintenance of Psychopathology: A Qualitative Review and Synthesis","volume":"69","author":"Knowles","year":"2019","journal-title":"Clin. Psychol. Rev."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e1","DOI":"10.1002\/erv.1071","article-title":"Anxiety in Anorexia Nervosa and Its Management Using Family-Based Treatment","volume":"20","author":"Hildebrandt","year":"2012","journal-title":"Eur. Eat. Disord. Rev."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"46","DOI":"10.1007\/s40519-023-01571-2","article-title":"Behavioural Biases in The Interaction with Food Objects in Virtual Reality and Its Clinical Implication for Binge Eating Disorder","volume":"28","author":"Max","year":"2023","journal-title":"Eat. Weight Disord."},{"key":"ref_9","unstructured":"Natali, L., Meregalli, V., Rowlands, K., Pietro, J.D., Treasure, J., Collantoni, E., Meneguzzo, P., Tenconi, E., Favaro, A., and Fontanaf, F. (Virtual Food for Real Thought: An Experimental Study to Test Strategies for Inhibitory Learning of Food Anxiety in Anorexia Nervosa, 2023). Virtual Food for Real Thought: An Experimental Study to Test Strategies for Inhibitory Learning of Food Anxiety in Anorexia Nervosa, manuscript to be submitted."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"537","DOI":"10.1007\/s11920-014-0537-x","article-title":"Why Study Positive Emotions in the Context of Eating Disorders?","volume":"17","author":"Tchanturia","year":"2015","journal-title":"Curr. Psychiatry Rep."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"54","DOI":"10.1159\/000329992","article-title":"Mealtime Support in Anorexia Nervosa: A Within-Subject Comparison Study of a Novel Vodcast Intervention","volume":"81","author":"Cardi","year":"2012","journal-title":"Psychother. Psychosom."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"33","DOI":"10.1016\/j.appet.2012.10.004","article-title":"Meal Support Using Mobile Technology in Anorexia Nervosa: Contextual Differences Between Inpatient and Outpatient Settings","volume":"60","author":"Cardi","year":"2013","journal-title":"Appetite"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"192","DOI":"10.1016\/j.appet.2014.12.224","article-title":"The Impact of Induced Positive Mood on Symptomatic Behaviour in Eating Disorders: An Experimental, AB\/BA Crossover Design Testing a Multimodal Presentation During a Test-Meal","volume":"87","author":"Cardi","year":"2015","journal-title":"Appetite"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"38","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodqual.2017.07.013","article-title":"Development and Validation of The Food Disgust Scale","volume":"63","author":"Hartmann","year":"2018","journal-title":"Food Qual Prefer."},{"key":"ref_15","unstructured":"Fairburn, C.G. (2008). Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Eating Disorders, Guilford Press."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"28","DOI":"10.1016\/j.appet.2018.04.014","article-title":"How People\u2019s Food Disgust Sensitivity Shapes Their Eating and Food Behaviour","volume":"127","author":"Egolf","year":"2018","journal-title":"Appetite"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106018","DOI":"10.1016\/j.appet.2022.106018","article-title":"Exploring the Role of Disgust Sensitivity and Propensity in Selective Eating","volume":"174","author":"Brown","year":"2022","journal-title":"Appetite"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100209","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jadr.2021.100209","article-title":"What Therapists Need to Know About the Treatment of OCD When Disgust Is Part of the Clinical Presentation","volume":"6","author":"Thayer","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Affect. Disord. Rep."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"316","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cbpra.2015.09.002","article-title":"Incorporating Social Support in the Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa: Special Considerations for Older Adolescents and Young Adults","volume":"23","author":"Pisetsky","year":"2016","journal-title":"Cogn. Behav. Pract."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"499","DOI":"10.1002\/erv.2822","article-title":"The Impact of Duration of Illness on Treatment Nonresponse and Drop-Out: Exploring the Relevance of Enduring Eating Disorder Concept","volume":"29","author":"Treasure","year":"2021","journal-title":"Eur. Eat. Disord. Rev."},{"key":"ref_21","unstructured":"Meule, A. (2023). Predictors and Moderators of Treatment Outcome in Inpatients with Anorexia Nervosa. [Ph.D. Thesis, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich]."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e027339","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2018-027339","article-title":"Incidence of Anorexia Nervosa in Young People in the UK and Ireland: A National Surveillance Study","volume":"9","author":"Petkova","year":"2019","journal-title":"BMJ Open"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"23","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eatbeh.2018.11.004","article-title":"Ethnic Differences in Eating Disorder Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Predictive Effects of Risk Factors Among Young Women","volume":"32","author":"Cheng","year":"2019","journal-title":"Eat. Behav."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"118","DOI":"10.1186\/s40337-023-00844-6","article-title":"Recruitment Strategies to Increase Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Anorexia Nervosa Clinical Research","volume":"11","author":"Strauch","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Eat. Disord."}],"container-title":["Nutrients"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-6643\/15\/20\/4443\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T21:10:01Z","timestamp":1760130601000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-6643\/15\/20\/4443"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,19]]},"references-count":24,"journal-issue":{"issue":"20","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,10]]}},"alternative-id":["nu15204443"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/nu15204443","relation":{},"ISSN":["2072-6643"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2072-6643","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,19]]}}}