Generous professor. Lecture attendance is mandatory. I personally didn't go a lot, but it did make the readings from the course reader easier to understand so would definitely recommend going to class. DON'T FALL BEHIND ON READINGS. Falling behind just makes it a lot harder to cram before the midterms/final (or maybe might be just me because I suck at memorization). Labs also take attendance, but they're pretty easy and helpful for the project. My TA (Aref) was very helpful, would definitely recommend. Labs are scheduled for 1 hour and 50 minutes, but don't usually last the entire time. Lab quizzes are given at the end of the activities. You have about 25 minutes to do them, but it is plenty of time and pretty straightforward. I got full points on all 3. Project can be done in an all nighter, but would definitely recommend starting at least a week before the due date to not stress out as much. Workbook can be done in a few days, doesn't require to read the entire chapter, but definitely should to understand the content. Overall, doable class if you do your part in putting in the effort.

Lectures: He takes attendance for his lectures, which is quite unfortunate because if he didn't, I would not attend a single one. He goes really slow and covers the bare minimum compared to the information in the course reader. He's a funny and nice professor, but his lectures bored me and I often listened to music during them.
Tests: Everyone stresses memorizing your course reader and you'll do fine on the midterm. I took that literally and memorized everything. Do not do this lol it's a waste of time. While you should focus more on the information in the course reader than from the lectures, the midterm really wasn't as thorough and specific as it was made out to be. I didn't take the final because he made it optional (due to coronavirus and online classes). There were 2 online quizzes that you had the weekend to do and they were 5 questions each and you could just use your notes on them.
Homework: There's no homework, just reading the course reader. I would keep up with this, even though there's no hard deadline.
Labs: The labs were every other week, which was really nice. There were lab quizzes but they were based on things you did that day, so you didn't need to prepare ahead of time.
Overall: Take this class! It's an easy GE and actually really helpful if you want to learn about health/fitness.

I enjoyed this class and learned a lot of valuable information about the importance of maintaining good health through a healthy diet and exercise. The class is overall pretty easy. The exams are very detailed, however, and require a lot of studying and memorizing the course reader in order to do well. The project is tedious but is an easy 100 points if you follow all the rules. Overall I recommend this class!

I loved this class! Although it was at 9am, I tried my best to make it because I enjoy the material so much. Also, Esdin takes attendance by passing around a sign in sheet. He lectures based off slides that he writes on, and typically, he lets the class out early. You have to buy a Course Reader for this course, which includes a textbook, workbook, and iProfile account. The workbook is fairly easy, and all the answers come from the textbook/lectures. The iProfile account is used to complete the big project for this class. Discussion is biweekly, and typically involves some kind of group work to determine your resting heart rate, etc. for the project. There are two quizzes in discussion, but you are allowed to use any paper notes that you take during the lecture during discussion. The project can be a lot if you save it for the last minute, so it is recommended that you start on it as early as you can. The midterm was online, and I believe the final was too (but I opted out of it this quarter bc of corona). The tests in this class are pretty easy if you're on top of your work, and it was all multiple choice. Esdin was a very good lecturer, and I learned a lot from him. I would definitely recommend this class if you are looking for an easy GE or if you are interested in this material.

Great class and great professor

First and foremost, you need to spend $102 on the textbook, workbook, and online profile together. You CANNOT get out of it because you need to turn the workbook in at the end of the quarter. Edsin is very enthusiastic about what he teaches. I don't consider myself good at remembering any kind of science, but his class made me genuinely interested in the body. I really felt like I learned something. The quizzes are short, but they're extremely easy. In addition, the midterm and final reflect the material he talks about. As long as you take notes of what he says and at least skim the main topics of the textbook, you'll be okay. He even gives you a study guide of what exactly will be on the midterm and final.

100% would take this class again. Professor was always engaging, helpful, kind, and you could tell he was there for the benefit of his students. Probably my favorite class taken at UCLA thus far. Highly recommend this for a science GE and a lab credit.

Super easy ge! I made a B+, but I cannot stress how little information I knew the whole time. I straight up never came to class, and just showed up to discussion. It was awesome. If you want my workbook and my login to the software you need for your project, I'm selling everything... text me: **********

Professor Esdin is a pretty cool dude who's really knowledgeable in his field. The course reader is required and expensive (like $105) but if you're good at memorizing think about it as investing in your GPA. It's not hard to get an A in this class if you memorize the course reader and show up. There are quizzes in labs based on what you did that day in lab (easy), and 2 online quizzes based on the readings. The midterm and final are entirely based on the reader so if you can learn it, love it, and live it by weeks 5 and 10, you're golden. The professor is a funny guy and likes to joke about how terribly we all eat (you learn how right he is in this project on your individual dietary habits). In my experience, I didn't have to go to the TA's or his office hours as everything you need can be answered in an email or in the book. I recommend this course for the easy GPA boost but must warn that it is in no way "easy" given the amount of time you have to put into memorizing.

This was a really interesting class with a great professor. Dr. Esdin is very knowledgeable and passionate about the topics and he is an engaging and funny lecturer. The lifestyle project is extremely doable, just follow the instructions and rubric carefully. The exams are straightforward, but at times questions ask VERY specific things that may have been mentioned in a single line or phrase in the course reader. If you take this class, just try to go over the course reader as many times as possible so you can catch those small details. He sometimes gives hints about exam questions during lecture so be sure to attend class. With the specifics of the exam, while the exams are very straightforward and doable, it is extremely easy to mess up and not do well in the class as most of the points come from the exams.