I really enjoyed this class! We started off learning about the importance of exercise, then moved into vitamins, followed by the cardiovascular system (he dove pretty deep into the heart muscles and tubes). One of the bigger sections focused on carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

The class is definitely memorization-heavy, and having a solid base at the start of each section will help a lot. I’m not great at science classes like chemistry and biology, but this class felt different—it’s more practical and focused on diet and exercise, which I loved. That said, it might be more challenging or less interesting for someone who’s not into that.

In terms of grading, there’s a midterm and a non-cumulative final, each worth 22% of your grade. You’ll also have two online lecture quizzes, three lab quizzes, and an overall project worth 22%. Attendance in both lecture and lab is mandatory. The final was online for us, which was nice.

If you stay on top of your studying throughout the quarter, an A is totally doable! One tip: even though I didn’t want to buy the professor’s book, I ended up needing it because he includes things in the exams that aren’t covered in lecture.

selling my course reader and iprofile! email me if you are interested at *************

I had the pleasure of taking Dr.Edison’s class last quarter, and I can’t recommend him enough! He was not only incredibly knowledgeable, but also sweet, approachable, and always willing to help. His teaching style is so engaging that even the more challenging topics felt manageable. He truly cares about his students' success and makes the learning experience enjoyable and informative.

Also, I’m selling the book**********) and iProfile we needed for the course – in excellent condition for not as much as I had to buy it for! Let me know if you're interested at 3-2-3 - 8-6-8-9-6-6-8.

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS IF YOU ARE NOT A STEM MAJOR. I don’t even understand why this class is offered as a GE or during the summer. It’s incredibly tedious and overly difficult for being a GE and taking it during the summer is worse because it’s asynchronous and the recorded lectures and labs suck. There’s a lecture and lab quiz every week in addition to lab assignments, the week long iprofile report (have to purchase for $100), and the final project (which I ended up typing 16 pages for). The quizzes and tests are made up of questions that were not covered in the lecture or lab recordings, they are also proctored so expect to have to know this stuff off the top of your head every week including for the midterm and final. The final project is graded without a rubric so your score is not broken down or explained. For someone who has only ever gotten one B (and that’s my lowest grade ever!) taking this class was very upsetting. Do not take this class if you have other options!

The greatest quality of this course is that it offers lessons that go far beyond the classroom. The curriculum covers the different systems of the body in light detail (no chemistry knowledge needed) and encourages healthy lifestyle choices to prevent chronic illnesses that commonly affect them. There is no homework, just a single project due in the 9th week. The project accounts for the majority of the grade and takes a considerable amount of time so it is best to start as soon as possible. Students are required to track their food and activity for a week and produce a variety of resulting documents via a paid software (more info later) called IProfile. These documents are then used to draw conclusions and form recommendations. Overall, the project is large and tedious but it does not require high effort. Quizzes are very easy and require the basic tasks of reading the textbook and paying attention during lecture. There are 2 lecture quizzes and 3 lab quizzes so make sure to pay attention during the lab as well. The materials for this course consist of a textbook written by Professor Esdin himself and an archaic software called IProfile, totaling $100. Note that these materials can only be purchased from a specific store near UCLA.

Awwww such an angel! Not sure how people could struggle with this class. It was insanely easy. 10/10 recommend if you want an A and want to satisfy a GE requirement. Literally wish I could take this again and again (tew easy) :)

solid GE! Selling coursereader for $10, will throw in my class notes! Email *************

Not as easy people make it seem to be. It is a very sciency class and as a humanities major, it just did not click for me. Meeting 3 days a week at 9am felt absurd and too much for just a GE. Attendance is mandatory and verified with clicker questions (i most times just clicked a random button from home just to get my points). The quizzes are pretty hard, they're take home but have a very short time limit (1 minute per question ) which forces you to really know the information off the top of your head. Also this class made me feel so self conscious and made me want to develop an ED. Dr Esdin is a cool guy and a great professor but there are easier GE's out there.

Dr. Esdin is a great professor who is very understanding of his students learning. His lectures never felt rushed, and he said if we did not get to a certain topic that everything was going to be okay. His lectures were very engaging and clear. I was very passionate about learning about diet and exercise before entering the class and this class reached my high expectations. He was a great communicator about any changes happening in the class and he would often give reminders about when an assignment, project, or quiz was coming up.

I recommend him as a professor and this class. The only thing that may be stressful is the lifestyle project which is worth 100 points. It is only stressful if you wait until the last minute, but if you dedicate a little time to it each day, you will be good :) The quizzes were all online, except for one of them, and they were not bad, sometimes questions were worded weird but it was fine. This class was actually relatable and useful for everyday life, and I 100% recommend for a life science GE. (Plus it covers the lab requirement so it is a win win).

When I signed up for this class, people who had taken it in previous quarters told me it would be fun, insightful, and a light workload. THAT WAS NOT AT ALL THE CASE. The lectures were okay at best, but the slides lacked adequate text. The professor skimmed the surface about multiple topics at a quick pace, then expected us to learn in-depth on our own time without any guidance. Honestly, the course reader was much more understandable, yet his questions were so out of the blue and unrelated to anything he said, so it didn't matter much. This is such an unnecessarily difficult, boring, and tedious GE that I would NOT recommend it for anyone who wants to keep their GPA up.