Virtual World 125,000 Kids Fight Obesity in Whyville

The WhyEat program launched by Whyville in 2005, through a partnership with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, is a virtual nutrition product allowing users to experience the effects--positive and negative--of lifestyle and eating choices. Collectively, Whyvillians have made more than 3.5 million trips to the virtual Cafeteria and eaten more than 8.5 million food items. 20 percent have found their avatar negatively altered by a poor diet and had to visit a virtual dietitian or complete virtual exercise to slim down. Every day nearly 125,000 users eat virtual food and live a virtually healthy lifestyle. 45 percent of WhyEat participants saw changes in their real-life habits due to the program.

Eight-year-old Whyville.com,is a learning-based virtual world that engages its residents to learn about real life while playing, earning currency, socializing, and governing.  COO Jay Goss explains that "Sponsors get involved in Whyville. That's our business model, but a number of activities that the kids have in Whyville are sponsored by a nonprofit or government organization.  The site is free to kids. We don't do microtransactions. There are a couple ways for the kids to spend money, but, whether fortunately or unfortunately, the vast majority use it as a free site."

While the site also runs banner ads, the goal is mostly educational. Goss says, "Whyville is postitioned in educational circles as a very provocative way to do hands-on education through the research. We want to encourage kids to ask questions about why things are happening."

Full press release below.

WHYVILLE.COM KIDS EAT HEALTHY OR GET SCURVY

125,000 Whyvillians Engaged in Virtual Nutrition Project;
Recent Survey Shows that Whyvillians Now Paying Better Attention to
Their Diet

Pasadena, CA - May 24, 2007) - As childhood obesity, health education
and children's nutrition continue to be major concerns for parents and
policy makers worldwide, Whyville.com - the only learning-based virtual
world for today's digital kids - has engaged kids in an innovative
virtual nutrition project in which "you become what you eat."  Launched
in November 2005 through a partnership with nutrition experts at The
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, with funding
provided by the executive vice chancellor for health affairs of the UT
System, WhyEat has now close to 125,000 Whyvillians volunteering to keep
their virtual selves healthy by eating virtual food everyday.

Through the WhyEat project, Whyvillians have collectively made more
than 3.5 million trips to Whyville's virtual Cafeteria and consumed more
than 8.5 million food items.  Of this total, approximately 20 percent
have found the appearance of their avatar (virtual persona) altered by a
poor diet and have had to find ways to restore their health.
Additionally, more than 245,000 trips to Whyville's virtual dietician
have been logged.
"In our virtual world, we can speed up the effects of bad nutrition,
taking days not years to see the consequences of the food choices our
kids make," said Jen Sun, director of the WhyEat project in Whyville.
"If Whyvillians choose an unbalanced diet filled with junk food, they
rapidly see the negative effects through changes in their avatars'
appearance.  At the same time, maintaining a healthy diet helps their
avatar look good and function well in Whyville."

In a recent survey, 45 percent of WhyEat participants stated the program
has changed the way they think about nutrition choices in their real
lives.  This impact of the virtual world on the real world is now also
the subject of a scientific investigation being conducted by researchers
at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
Further, WhyEat is starting to be used in middle school health and
sciences classrooms throughout the country.

"It's extremely alarming to see that the number of overweight children
and adolescents is on the rise; in fact, the prevalence of obesity in
children 6-11 years old is three times what it was in the 1970s,"
continued Sun.  "It is pretty clear that lecturing kids about nutrition
isn't going to solve the problem.  In Whyville, kids are given the tools
to figure it out for themselves - with a little help from us, of
course." 
WhyEat is an interactive experience that involves Whyvillians planning
their own meals by purchasing food at the grocery market, grill, or the
Whyville Cafeteria, which is sponsored by the School Nutrition
Association.  Each Whyvillian has their own "nutrition calculator" that
lists the nutritional value of the foods they eat, and also calculates
imbalances in their diets.  The calculator also helps kids understand
how to interpret nutritional information and food labels.

Too few calories and the avatars become pale and sickly.  Too much junk
food or desserts might result in bloating and gas.  Not enough Vitamin A
and the avatar's eyes are affected.  A lack of vitamin C causes
unsightly scurvy sores, while a lack of calcium results in weak bones
and a bandaged head.  Conversely, Whyvillians who maintain healthy
eating habits are rewarded with additional clams (Whyville currency).
Since their avatar is their "face" to the Whyville community,
Whyvillians are motivated to figure out how they can look healthy again.
The virtual dietitian in the nutrition center also gives diagnoses and
advice based on the virtual eating habits of the specific avatar.    
When surveyed whether WhyEat has made an impact in their real life, one
Whyville citizen from New York stated, "I've been eating better and I'm
at the perfect weight range for my height.  I started getting active too
and now I walk dogs every afternoon.  Healthy lifestyles are great. Of
course there's nothing wrong in eating pizza on Fridays. Just not too
much and work it off J."               

About Whyville
Whyville.com is the only learning-based virtual world for today's
digital kids.  For eight years, the site has successfully created an
environment that engages its vested "citizens" to learn about life,
while having fun.  Inside Whyville, kids play, engage with activities,
earn currency, socialize, learn, design, eat, dance, govern and much
more.  For sponsors, Whyville enables organizations to be on the inside
of the virtual world, providing them with the means to truly interact
with the hard-to-reach demographic of 8 to 15 year olds.  Numedeon, the
parent company of Whyville, was created by scientists from Caltech who
combined research expertise in neuroscience with education experience to
conceive of an innovative way to harness the power of the Internet for
the purpose of engagement and real learning.  In addition to its
flagship property, Numedeon has developed a number of virtual worlds
using its proprietary technology.