Great class and great professor. I highly recommend it. It's not as easy as some people make it out to be. Attending lectures will help a lot and reading the course reader and study guide will help too. Esdin is very easy and interesting to listen to. He's a great professor and the class is very interesting! Definitely take it!! The TA Daniel was excellent too!

This is by no means an easy A. As a complete North Campus major, this still required work. Comparatively, less - but not a surefire A, if that's what you're looking for.

However, Esdin is a great professor. He's interesting and funny, which proved helpful for those 8am lectures during Fall 2011 quarter. Listening on podcast is available but just not the same as being in lecture.
His exams have tricky questions, and people generally get a B+ on the midterm and the final. That's the average. You'll have to study hard for the midterm and the final, but the project is relatively straightforward and can be finished rather quickly.

Overall, it's a great class, but don't be hoping for an incredibly easy A. That won't happen, but at least with Esdin, taking a South Campus class won't be absolute hell if you like-minded North Campus majors.

I took Dr. Esdin's PS 5 class this past Summer and it was a great experience. He teaches you really well about how to lead a healthy life style. HE talks in details about nutrition and exercise and explains how food is processed in your body. His Life Assessment Project is an eye opener on how to lead a healthy life style. The exams for the course were straight forward. Take this class if you want an enjoyable as well as a rewarding experience. I recommended this class to all my friends.

Dr. Esdin's class is very informative. He really lectures talking to students not at them. You can tell from the detailed powerpoints he has that he puts a lot of time into his lectures. Definitely attend office hours. They are so helpful and he is so welcoming. You never fall asleep in his lecture.
Physiology is very difficult but he makes it so simplified and easy to comprehend. He is also so generous with the grades. He gives about 35% of the students A range. Out of all the instructors at UCLA, you should take him. He is awesome. His exams are detailed, but if you take good notes, you will ace the exams.

Esdin was a great professor for PhySci 5. Interesting and a good lecturer. He always says "take home message", and my friends and I tallied how many times a lecture he said it. Record is 17. Go to lecture or have a friend who goes to lecture because he reveals questions that will be on the final as an incentive to go to lecture and they won't be on the podcast. The BIG fitness project that everybody stresses about really isn't that hard and easily doable in one night. I would certainly say take Esdin if you can.