Center for Learning Innovation, University of Minnesota Rochester, Rochester, Minnesota, United States.
Adv Physiol Educ. 2023 Dec 1;47(4):851-855. doi: 10.1152/advan.00093.2023. Epub 2023 Sep 21.
Conventional teaching about obesity, especially within a physiology-based course, tends to focus on the biological aspects. Unfortunately, framing obesity from a solely biological perspective ignores many factors that contribute to the condition, leaving students with an overly simplistic idea. We developed an introductory exercise physiology course that was cotaught with a physiologist and a sociologist to provide health science majors with a more holistic view of complex socioscientific issues including obesity. From our course, students self-reported changes in their views about obesity and exercise to include more empathy as well as nuance regarding exercise and body size as physiological and biological processes that are experienced and take place socioculturally. We found value in this cross-disciplinary approach and recommend it as a frame for other exercise physiology courses; we recognize this is not always possible, so we also provide resources for faculty who do not have a sociologist to coteach with. This article presents a unique perspective on the necessity of including sociological concepts and teaching alongside certain topics within a physiology classroom along with some resources for faculty wishing to engage in similar infusions of sociological thinking.
传统的肥胖教学，尤其是在基于生理学的课程中，往往侧重于生物学方面。不幸的是，仅从生物学角度来描述肥胖会忽略导致肥胖的许多因素，使学生对其形成过于简单的看法。我们开发了一门介绍性的运动生理学课程，由生理学家和社会学家共同教授，为健康科学专业的学生提供更全面的视角，了解包括肥胖在内的复杂社会科学问题。从我们的课程中，学生们自我报告了他们对肥胖和运动的看法的变化，包括更多的同理心，以及对运动和身体大小的细微差别，因为这些是在社会文化中经历和发生的生理和生物学过程。我们发现这种跨学科方法很有价值，并推荐它作为其他运动生理学课程的框架；我们认识到这并不总是可行的，因此我们也为没有社会学家共同授课的教师提供了资源。本文从生理学课堂中需要纳入社会学概念和教学的独特视角出发，为希望引入类似社会学思维的教师提供了一些资源。
