Students will be asked to create specific exercise prescriptions for case study individuals with specific diseases. For example, a client may have breast cancer. The student (or small group perhaps) would be asked to review the literature to determine the best exercise prescription for that woman, then they would create it and present and defend it in front of their peers. There will be a literature review, synthesis of the evidence, and application of the evidence to create an appropriate exercise prescription.

From a historical context, students will learn about the history of modern exercise epidemiology beginning in the 1950s and moving forward to the current day. This review will follow a timeline perspective. Students will be asked to compare and contrast information from the three federal guidelines issued over the past 30 years to see how the field has changed. From a socio-cultural perspective, discussions will include awareness-raising about the bias inherent in much of US research into health issues – predominantly white male subjects - and a discussion on generalizability to other groups. Students will be asked to review and analyze the impact of exercise as medicine as a growing profession and its influences on socio-political implementations, such as public policies, career expansions, and public opinions.