Just Say No Virtually!

If you grab a cookie, you’ll get a "Whoa" warning from Cathy, the cateferia worker.

On the other hand, when you choose a salad, Cathy will gush, "Congratulations! That’s a food with both vitamin A and vitamin C."

But, wait, this really isn’t happening in our world. That’s right, you can meet Cathy right here, on the Internet. (Don’t be surprised, though, if you can’t get it to work — I’m still trying.)

So, here’s the un-lifelike scoop.

A suburban Dallas school district (in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch school district)– incidentally, near where I used to work as a journalist — has launched a "Virtual Cafeteria" to help kids learn what foods are good for you and what foods aren’t.

(The irony, though, is that this virtual Cathy — from WinningHabits.com — has a bit of a double chin and looks like she could stand to lose a few pounds herself! Not exactly a great example!)

Even so, as the Associated Press tells us, kids who enter this Internet-like experience can get nutritional info tallied up for their food choices, including calories, fat grams, carbs, protein, vitamin A and vitamin C.

Of course, the Virtual Cafeteria is intended to influence behavior of some of the 35% of Texas schoolchildren, who are overweight or obese. (Some 30% of U.S. school kids are overweight.)

While this interactive experience sounds absolutely intriguing and perhaps even promising, I’d like to know the following:

• How much does this virtual software cost and how did the school district pay for it? (I hope not from cash made by sodas sold in vending machines!)

• How will school officials get the word out to kids (other than through TV spots and staff demonstrations) so children will actually meet virtual Cathy?
• Where do the kids go to enter this virtual world? (In a particular school’s computer room? At home on their computers?)
• How many kids will meet virtual Cathy per day?
• Will participating schools take time out of classes so kids can have the virtual dining experience?
• Are there stats showing that the virtual experience will actually translate into a more nutritious, real-life cafeteria experience — i.e., are kids using the virtual gizmo buying better foods in reality? (Sorry, I feel obliged to play "devil’s advocate" here even though I’m a firm believer in the power of positive thinking and your subconscious mind. But, all said and done, a virtual reality doesn’t involve our senses, which eating does — and big time.)
• Are there plans to bring virtual Cathy, the cafeteria worker, out to other schools around the rest of the nation — and, if so, what will it cost and who will pay for it?
• Just how smart is Cathy anyway and whose nutritional information does she dispense? (Did her knowledge come from Dr. Kenneth Cooper and these other members of the WinningHabits.com advisory board? In other words, can we trust her advice?)
• Why don’t enhance this virtual experience to show what really happens to you physically when you eat too many of these "Whoa" foods? Does Cathy tell you that being obese could ultimately shorten your life because you could get diabetes and other diseases?

Finally, I’d like to know:

• How can I load virtual nutritional whiz Cathy onto my computer (without having to pay a fortune to WinningHabits.com)?!
• Can chatty Cathy — I mean virtual Cathy — dispense nutritional advice nationwide, and even worldwide — not just into schools?

Despite my seeming barrage of criticism, I do applaud this innovative idea, and I’d sure like to meet virtual Cathy soon.