Aston Eating and Behaviour Labs
A suite of facilities designed for the observation and recording of participant behaviour.
The Aston Eating and Behaviour Laboratories contain a suite of facilities designed for the observation and recording of participant behaviour, including naturalistic interactions in family friendly settings. Dedicated observational space is available for research, assessing child development, parent-child interaction, focus groups and interviews, eating behaviour, play, and sleep.
The family observational lab includes a suite of rooms with dedicated space for children and families to take part in behavioural tests, play, and consume food. It includes a child friendly seating area for families and children to consume food, and has a kitchen facility for food preparation, equipped with family friendly crockery and cutlery.
The observational suite includes a one-way mirror system, and contains 2 IP Colour Dome wall mounted Pan, Tilt and Zoom (1080P) cameras with boundary microphones. The lab also includes a linked control room with a Noldus media recorder and Observer XT analysis software 14.2, including advanced video analysis software. There is a sofa in this control room from which parents can observe their children in the observation room. The observation room includes family friendly dining furniture including high chairs, and a range of toys to suit infants and young children. The lab is equipped with weighing and measuring facilities for both adults and children.
The large fully equipped kitchen provides the facility for studies involving hot and cold food preparation. It includes an oven, fridge-freezer, microwave, precision scales for the weighing of food, and all necessary equipment for the storage, manipulation and delivery of food and drink to participants.
Individual testing rooms adjacent to our kitchen allow for adult focused eating behaviour studies, both with and without observation facilities. These can be equipped with Sussex Ingestion Pattern Monitors, to enable the continuous measurement of food consumption, while assessing mood state, appetite, and meal enjoyment.
Nearby facilities also provide the ability to; measure body composition; to collect, store and analyse biological samples (e.g. blood, saliva and urine); and to collect neuroimaging data via the MEG, MRI and EEG suites.
