Smartwatch system to automatically detect eating and drinking for children and their parents
Official title: Evaluating the Validity and Feasibility of a Smartwatch-based Eating Detection System to Passively and Automatically Detect Eating Events in Child-parent Dyads
Run by Pennington Biomedical Research Center · NCT07290179 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will test whether a smartwatch can automatically detect eating and drinking events for children aged 8–12 and one parent or caregiver.
Quick facts
| Study type | Observational |
|---|---|
| Ages | 8 Years to 12 Years |
| Sex | All |
| Enrollment | 35 (estimated) |
| Sponsor | Pennington Biomedical Research Center Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) |
| Status | Recruiting |
| Started | June 10, 2026 |
| Main results expected | November 2026 |
| Study ends | December 2026 |
| Registry record updated | June 11, 2026 |
| Trial ID | NCT07290179 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
Is this trial a fit for you?
✓Likely a good fit
Ideal participants are parents or caregivers aged 18–70 with a child aged 8–12 who can wear a smartwatch during school and at home and who follow a regular eating pattern.
✕Probably not a fit
Children who have irregular eating patterns, food restrictions or allergies, or who cannot or refuse to wear the smartwatch or respond to prompts are unlikely to benefit from this approach.
A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.
What this trial studies
Child-parent pairs will wear a smartwatch on their dominant hand during a lab visit where eating and other activities are video-recorded to create a ground truth for eating events. The same pairs will then wear the watch for three days in their normal lives while parents receive brief prompts on their phone to confirm or activate the device. Researchers will compare the smartwatch’s automatic detections to the video-coded times in the lab and to parent responses during the free-living period to measure accuracy and practicality. The study focuses on passive, wrist-based sensing and brief ecological momentary prompts to support data collection without major behavior change.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could give researchers and families an easy, passive way to monitor eating patterns and support nutrition-related programs or research.
How similar studies have gone: Prior wrist-worn and smartwatch studies have shown promising but variable accuracy for detecting eating gestures, so this approach is partially validated but still needs refinement.
Who can join: the full rules
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Parents or caregivers (18-70 years) who have children aged 8-12 years * Child is willing and able to wear smartwatch during school hours (have not restrictions in the school setting) Exclusion Criteria: * Any condition or circumstance that could impede study completion * Child does not follow a regular eating pattern * Child eats less than 1 meal and 1 snack in a day * Child is restricted or allergic to the study foods * Refusal or unable to use the smartwatch to collect data for the 3-day period in free - living conditions * Parental refusal or unable to respond Ecological Momentary Assessment prompts
Where it's running
-
Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States Recruiting
Study contacts
- Principal investigator: Hanim E Diktas, PhD — Pennington Biomedical Research Center
- Study coordinator: Hanim E Diktas, PhD
- Email: hanim.diktas@pbrc.edu
- Phone: (225) 763-2832
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How to take part
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
- Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.