Instructor: Julie Ketchie Croff

Instructor Email: jketchie@projects.sdsu.edu
Prerequisites: None

Course Description: Smoking, drinking, and poor diet lead to nearly 1 million deaths in 2000. Large corporations represent the economic power of the United States. But this comes at great health and social costs. This course will explore three main industries in the U.S. today: fast food, tobacco, and alcohol. Health consequences of using these products will be discussed; as well as laws that have impacted these industries (e.g. Master Settlement Agreement, Prohibition). Students will propose potential policies or programs to reduce the impact of disease from these corporations.

Course Objectives: By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• List the health consequences of using products from the fast food, tobacco, or alcohol industry
• Describe policies that have impacted industry and public health
• Understand the basic impact of policy on human behavior and industry

Expectations:

Students will be expected to complete readings and assignments outside of class time. Students should arrive in class on time, be respectful of classmates and the course instructor. Students should not create any loud noises that might distract others from learning; these noises include, but are not limited to: cell phones, ipods, bubble gum (popping, smacking, etc.), loud foods (chips, crackers, etc.), rowdy behavior, yelling, or shouting.

Course Outline:

Include classroom topics, focus, lab overviews (if applicable), prospective field trips and final project.

Week 1: Fast food. Students will explore low calorie options at fast food restaurants. Learning objectives for this week will include caloric balance in diet and exercise and caloric requirements for healthy living. Price per calorie will be calculated for several fast food chains. Density of fast food outlets will be explored.

Week 2: Tobacco. Students will learn about the health consequences of smoking, as well as the social and cultural implications of smoking. Policies related to smoking will be explored, as well as media campaigns for and against smoking.

Week 3: Alcohol. Students will learn abut the health consequences of alcohol consumption. Social and cultural implications of alcohol consumption will be addressed. History of prohibition and current alcohol policy will be explored.