"Why Online Students will be Obese Students"

By Chloe Coleman

MOOCs, or Massive Open Online Courses, are the biggest issue in academia today. These courses are designed to be completely online, free, and available to everyone and anyone that has an internet connection. Students who would like to enroll simply go to the sponsor page of the course and sign up. Many students find that this type of learning helps them to have an active education, but unfortunately it also helps them to have an active physical deterioration. Because of more screen time and less activeness, college student obesity will increase due to MOOCs replacing brick and mortar college courses.

What is a MOOC?

According to Eli publication’s site “7 Things You Should know about MOOCs” a MOOC is,  “ a model of educational delivery that is, to varying degrees, massive, open, online, and a course." Moocs are similar to regular brick and mortar classes because of their use of lectures, assigned readings, discussions and forums, and tests and quizzes on course material. The difference is that they are completely online. (Thompson) Translation? To me, a MOOC without strict self discipline would morph into hours of viewing lectures as I sat on my bed eating food while casually flipping through facebook. Rather than hiking across campus to get to my next class as I would for a brick and mortar college, my nearest hike for my MOOC course would be to the kitchen or to the bathroom.  It is no wonder that the sedentariness of an internet education would cause corpulence in the students whose eyes remain glued to the screen.

Besides spending time viewing lectures students also have to complete assignments and study for classes online. At Kent University a student enrolled in a 7 credit hour semester may expect the following amount of hours in front of a screen: “A typical 7-week course delivered online via the Bb Learn LMS would include approximately 7 hours PER WEEK of some or all of the following “classroom” activities: review of concepts from previous week, lecture on new materials, reinforcing quizzes/self-tests about lecture/readings, discussion questions about lecture/readings, instructions for upcoming assignments, review of feedback given on previous assignments/activities, student questions, preview of upcoming topics, online exams, synchronous activities, and other online readings or resources.

A typical 7-week course delivered online via the Bb Learn LMS would include 12-13 hours of assignment activities PER WEEK that might include the following:  readings, review of online lecture, assigned projects, group activities (time should be scheduled to allow for arranging logistics of online group meetings beyond actual group project), Exams or assessments not given as timed online tests, and Research activities.” - http://www.kent.edu/onlinelearning/upload/student-course-time.pdf

Added all together, the amount of time a student would spend on online (not including leisure activities) would look something like this:

Because of this excess amount of screen time it is easy to see that obesity numbers could climb with the increase of MOOCs.

Obesity         

So what is obesity? As stated by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, obesity is “a condition characterized by the excessive accumulation and storage of fat in the body” (Merriam Webster). In the article, “Causes of Obesity”, sponsored by the Comprehensive Weight Control Program, Weill-Cornell Medical College and New York Presbyterian Hospital, the causes of obesity in U.S. adults is  narrowed down to “the food environment (excessive amounts of easily acquired fatty foods), decreases in physical activity, sleep debt, drug-induced weight gain, decline in cigarette smoking, endocrine disruptors, reduction in variability of ambient temperature, changes in distribution of ethnicity and age, increasing gravida age, intrauterine effects, greater reproductive fitness of higher BMI individuals yielding the selection for obesity-predisposing genotypes, assortative mating and floor effects, changes in policy, and infections" (Wright). Several of these reasons such as poor eating habits, lack of sleep and decreases in physical activity are common problems among college students. This provides the perfect environment for students to gain the “Freshman Fifteen”. Shifting college students to a purely MOOC-based education would only multiply the chances of students falling into obesity because of increased screen time and decreased physical activity which would cause a deterioration of mental health.

Some college students may believe that because of their youth and good health adding a few pounds to their weight in college will not negatively affect their future health, and that the weight may be easily lost later with no consequences. This mindset is incorrect and is one of the leading factors of obesity and death in young adults. In 2012 the National Institutes of Health reported that obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States with an estimated 300,000 deaths directly related to obesity, being preceded only by tobacco use. The U.S. Department of Health and Human services revealed the consequences of obesity to potentially include: premature death, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, breathing problems, arthritis, social discrimination, reproductive complications including death of mother and child as well as birth defects, and/or  increased risks of gall bladder disease, incontinence, increased surgical risk, and depression. (Surgeon-General). Before disregarding their weight by making a MOOC lifestyle their regular lifestyle, students should seriously consider whether their life is worth their time spent online.

MOOCS, Obesity, and Mental health

By providing an isolated environment without physical contact or regular physical movement  for the college student, MOOCs with cause increases in mental disease and overweightness. A study was done in 4 universities across the United States to assess and examine the affiliation between physical activity, mental health, perceived stress, and socializing among college students. The students self reported on their physical activeness, their results for mental health and stress evaluations, and reported about their socialization for the week. Results provided evidence that students with high physical activity were unlikely to report poor mental health or high stress. Researchers concluded that to improve student physical and mental wellness, colleges and universities need to  promote physical activity and social interactions.(VanKim) The students need for social and physical interactions in order to be mentally and physically stable are not met through a MOOC education. Depression and obesity will not just increase, but they will feed upon each other in a vicious cycle of: I'm depressed so i'm not going to do anything today but eat, followed by i'm overweight and I have poor self esteem so I am depressed about my appearance and I am going to eat more. If a student does not aquire help when in this MOOC induced cycle, there is a high likelihood of students becoming so physically and mentally ill that suicude rates may be affected.

Massive Open Online Courses; putting the “massive” into student body weight 

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, obesity in adults and children has more than doubled since the 1970s, revealing that two thirds of the population to be obese. Paralleling this data, is the increase in media and technology in the U.S.. As stated by the  eMarketer newsletter, “US adults spent an average of 11 hours, 49 minutes with media each day in 2012, and would respectively spend 12 hours, 5 minutes, with media this year.” So does this increase in media really affect body weight?

In answer to this, a study was conducted in Australia to evaluate the effects of high amounts of screen time on weight gain in Australian adults. The results showed that while general physical activeness was increasing in adults, screen time and overweightness matched it. The higher the amount of screen time, the more overweight the subject was. The researchers suggested that physical activity be increased and screen time be drastically reduced in order to increase health and reduce obesity. (Duncan) MOOCs are providing the opposite environment that is suggested to increase health. MOOCs are completely reliant on screen time and the use of a computer, leaving the student exposed to a computer screen for hours at a time without the frequent breaks of moving from class to class.

Other’s Solutions

Some people, such as Professor Henry C. Lucas express the opinion that the financial benefits of MOOCs outweigh the benefits of a brick and mortar college. The prime reasoning being that “MOOCs do not require classrooms, dorms, [or] athletic teams,” (Lucas) eliminating the need for a campus or on-campus housing. It’s true that the financial cost of running a brick and mortar college is greater than the cost of running a MOOC, but it does not solve the obesity issue. The value of on-campus housing and workout facilities are too vital to college student health to let them be replaced.

A recent study was conducted at a midwestern United States university to assess how living arrangements affected obesity and lifestyle in its students.  Results showed that students living off-campus were more likely to be overweight, obese, have a high alcohol consumption rate, and smoke. Students living on-campus were less likely to be obese and displayed healthier diets consisting of high levels of fruit, vegetables, dairy, and grain variety than students living off-campus. (Brunt) If MOOCs were allowed to eliminate campuses, it would also eliminate the healthier environment of on-campus living. 
Replacing campuses would also destroy the average student’s main form of exercise, which is walking across campus. A college student typically achieves the recommended 10,000 steps per day for a healthy lifestyle by walking to campus, across campus, to each class, and home from campus. Some students enjoy extracurricular physical activities that are hosted by the university, but they are extra and require planning to accomplish. This extra time of physicalness incorporated into the average college students daily routine is a necessity that some students may feel they do not have time for, resulting in walks across campus being their only form of exercise. Taking away campuses would mean taking away students physical activity and causing obesity to skyrocket.

Some might suggest that students can always take online health classes in order to be physically fit, but a study performed by Lock Haven University proves that online health classes are not as effective on student health  as they are perceived to be. Lock Haven University performed an experiment to analyze the impact of course delivery format on student health by making a wellness course a requirement. The class was offered to students in three different forms: completely online, blended between online teaching and time in the classroom, and traditional in-class instruction. The effectiveness of the course was determined by the frequency, duration, and intensity of the student’s physical activeness and nutritional habits. The results revealed that students in the traditional and blended classrooms achieved significant increase in cardiovascular strength and health while the online class only produced minimal results. (Driskell) Online courses are insufficient to provide the physical activity that college students require in order to remain physically fit and do not promote lifelong healthfulness.

So What Do We Do About It?

With the knowledge that MOOCs are most likely the future of education, despite the repercussions they have on student health, I propose that policy makers should produce a program that integrates MOOCs into the brick and mortar system. Students will still live on-campus and may have traditional classes if they like but if they choose to enroll in a MOOC they will have a classroom provided for them with other students enrolled in the course or a course similar to it in the same room. The classroom will be full of laptops to rent and have desks with computer space. The students will have an allotted time to view the lecture and then will have to move to a different room to study so that other students can use the classroom for lecture. By doing this students will still have the safety of on-campus housing (if they desire), get physical exercise, be able to interact with other students, and still have a college experience. Further, I propose that colleges follow the example of Lock Haven University and have a set of required health and fitness courses as a part of graduation requirements thus ensuring that while students are in charge of their own actions and weight, they will still be educated of the dangers of obesity, and have the knowledge and opportunity to fix their habits while in school. Most students report that they would like to work out and exercise, but rarely can find the time. By providing a required traditional style class, the time, place, and curriculum will already be mapped out for them to get in shape.

Conclusion

MOOCs have the potential to change education in its entirety by enabling students without the financial means to expand their knowledge without having to attend a regular college. Parents and students need to consider the possibility that expanding their knowledge purely through MOOCs may also expand their waistlines therefore putting their lives at risk. By creating a program that integrates online education with the classic college experience, students will be healthier and happier than if they completed their courses purely online.  Although many students use the MOOC type of education to aid them in their quest for  lifelong learning, if unaltered, the increase in screen time and decrease of physical activeness will cause a rise in obesity that may just make their lifelong learning a shorter experience. Integrating MOOCs with the traditional brick and mortar college will ensure that their education remains rounded without rounding out students bellies.

Works Cited

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