Scott Takes a Diet at Glass House in MOA

For the next month, a man will be living in a glass apartment at the Mall of America, to showcase his quest to eat better and exercise more on display for the world to see. The apartment is complete with la iving room, flat-screen TV and kitchen. Doesn't sound to terrible does it?, but, why is he doing it?

Yes, it does sound like a stunt of reality TV, but he's the focus of an unconventional marketing campaign from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of MN, whose long-running "Do' campaign aims to show how simple activities can improve health.

More than 60 percent of MN adults are obese or overweight, costing the state $1 billion a year to treat diabetes, heart disease, stroke and other conditions, according to a study by the MN Department of Health and Blue Cross. The epidemic is a huge driver to rising health costs.

The irony isn't lost on him, but Scott, 45, said he doesn't want his last name made public for privacy reasons. He lives in the Twin Cities with his wife of 15 months, a stocky golden retriever and a youthful Yorkshire terrier. Although he works as a self-employed actor who does voice-overs corporate events to make ends meet, he's not doing this to further his career or for the stipend he's earning from Blue Cross.

The 20-by-30 foot apartment is glass on all walls and has an exercise bike in it. He said he's got high cholesterol and is 40 to 50 pounds overweight. Putting his life on display for the Blue Cross marketing campaign means he'll have a team of nutritionists and medical doctors working with him to teach him better habits. He'll walk the mall and work out in his apartment. He'll shop for groceries, but also figure out how to make healthier choices at the food court.

Through the month, he'll be blogging, tweeting and sharing his thoughts on Facebook, all with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield branding. "This is like having a great big workout partner and having people try this with me," he said.

Blue Cross said that this isn't a contest where Scott will be expected to lose an unhealthy amount of weight. The goal is to find a few things he loves to do and find better ways to eat; it's more about him learning new habits that can last a lifetime, rather than making some drastic change that doesn't last.

Follow Scott on Twitter or Facebook by searching: thehumandoing