Comments on OBESITY PANACEA: Is virtual reality the cure for obesity?

@ Riven Homewood - Thanks for the insightful comme...

2009-09-15T16:29:34.596-04:00

@ Riven Homewood - Thanks for the insightful comments! I tried again last night to get the gist of SL, but feel like I am missing something - where the heck are all the other avatars? I keep interacting with random places which are totally void of others...

Interesting point about people with physical disabilities having SL as an outlet to virtually experience what they can't in real life - I never considered that. I guess the step up from that is the ability to fly in SL - something I have wanted to do since I was a kid:)

Peter

@ Matt - once again a VERY sarcastic comment, one ...

2009-09-15T16:25:45.145-04:00

@ Matt - once again a VERY sarcastic comment, one that I fear may be lost on many:) You should include a sarcasm disclaimer at the bottom of each of your comments. I like the reference to the horse - I didn't realize this, but apparently your avatar can be just about anything - like a horse. Are you on Second Life Matt?

As an aside, has anyone seen the Office episode where Dwight is on Sexond Life, and his avatar does noting but sits at a computer and accesses 'Second' Second Life? Genius!

Peter

I've been on SL for over 2 years, and it's...

2009-09-15T12:08:52.489-04:00

I've been on SL for over 2 years, and it's a gas.

Their first hypothesis is probably right, that people who enjoy physical activities in real life will enjoy simulated physical activities in a virtual world. (By the way, "real life" is the accepted term for life that isn't lived online.)

It doesn't seem impossible that somebody might try surfing or mountain climbing on SL and then decide to give it a try in RL. However, what I've seen more often is that people with disabilities that prevent them from enjoying such activities in rl greatly enjoy being able to simulate them in SL.

Dancing is an obvious exception to this - dancing is a very popular social activity in SL, and most social events there include it. It serves much the same social function that eating does in rl.

I'm not so sure about the validity of their second conclusion, that thin people have thin avatars. It seems unlikely that they actually weighted the participants in rl, so they are probably relying on self-reported data here to determine their rl weights. My impression is that most people go for thin on SL -- after all, if you can look any way you want to, why not? If your SL avatar is not thin and beautiful, it's usually because you're using your appearance to make a statement.

This is a really interesting preliminary study. I hope the researchers will go on to apply their finding toward designing nutrition education and virtual weight-loss support groups.

"... in fact, the idle sitting at the compute...

2009-09-15T00:10:00.359-04:00

"... in fact, the idle sitting at the computer while interacting with the virtual world of Second Life may actually push the scale in the opposite direction."
This is simply not true! Just today I spent 14 hours on my computer and expended calories by typing and mousing yet not once did I ingest any food. Hello! Instant weight loss idea. But I like this study's conclusion about life imitating virtual art, and I'm going to spend another 14 hours tomorrow figuring out how I can change my avatar so that even a horse is jealous!

@ Jason - that is quite funny! I have to admit I a...

2009-09-14T17:41:08.661-04:00

@ Jason - that is quite funny! I have to admit I actually got a Second Life account to see what the fuss was about - not sure I get the point just yet, as I wonder around aimlessly attempting to start conversations with avatars that are apparently too cool to respond...

Sure, Second Life can help you lose weight. But yo...

2009-09-14T13:04:12.702-04:00

Sure, Second Life can help you lose weight. But you have to hook it up to a treadmill first:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1wtAlAYiUE