Institute For The Future

"'Virtual' self can help dieting, exercise"

So read the subtitle of a story in today's Palo Alto Weekly. Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab researchers have been studying how people change their real-world behavior by watching virtual representations of themselves (known as avatars). The researchers have found evidence that what one's avatar does in a virtual-reality game or world (like Second Life) can have real health implications in everyday life. For example, watching your virtual self get fat on-screen will help you decide to skip the chocolate bar at snack time.

In another study, subjects were inspired to work out. When people who exercised in front of the computers saw their avatars slim down on the monitors (and expand when they stood still), they were motivated to continue exercising. As one of the researchers is quoted as saying, "People get horrified when they see themselves gain weight. . . . The one thing that keeps people motivated is seeing themselves change."

Researchers also had subjects watch what happened when their avatars made certain food choices. In the virtual world, the avatar coice between a bowl of carrot sticks or Reese's peanut butter cups. The results are not yet available from this study.

Researchers are hopeful that virtual technology could have important implications if it is integrated into a long-term weight loss program.