The University of Houston (UH) has come up with a controversial way to teach people about treating obesity: have participants sit in front of a computer.

Photo: Malingerer, Flickr

Image via AP Metablog

As part of the school’s Obesity Research Center, UH is seeking 500 participants willing to use the school’s obesity training module in Second Life according to Science Daily.

“This is an excellent opportunity to learn and practice these new behaviors in a virtual environment and in real life,” said Rebecca Lee, associate professor and director of TORC, in the Science Daily article. “It’s also a great place to meet other avatars and share information and experiences.”

In essence, participants will direct their avatars – their online interpretation of themselves – to treadmills, bikes, and fruits and vegetables. But rather than eating broccoli in real life, the program will reward Challenge Points to users for each healthy choice. The country that earns the most points will win the International Health Challenge.

A large part of the appeal of using SL for obesity training is to direct avatars to one another to share stories and information, and to make multi-national collaborations. However, it does seem strange to us that the university is promoting an obesity awareness campaign, using Linden dollars as bait to folks seated in front of a machine. But the reach of SL is huge and the organizers behind the initiative, including Lee, are well-versed in obesity research, so in this case, the benefit of the doubt should be given to the research team.