New MOOC available: Designing Your Personal Weight Loss Plan

Case Western Reserve University will offer a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) titled “Designing Your Personal Weight Loss Plan.” Created by Mary Beth Kavanagh, senior instructor and director of bachelor’s/master’s education in the Department of Nutrition, the project-based online course walks learners through creating their own personalized weight loss plan. “Participants will work through all aspects of creating a weight loss plan, including nutrition, exercise, grocery shopping and behavior change,” Kavanagh said. The MOOC will provide CWRU and the university’s School of Medicine worldwide exposure: MOOCs are designed to reach thousands, even tens of thousands, of learners throughout the world. The “Designing Your Personal Weight Loss Plan” course includes two lessons a week over a five-week period. Access the MOOC through Coursera at coursera.org/learn/weight-loss-plan. Users will need to create an account at coursera.org.

Nutrition Program Incentive

Case Western Reserve University benefits-eligible faculty and staff who complete and implement the weight loss plan before Nov. 30 would meet participation guidelines for the Nutrition Program Incentive for 2016 in the University’s Wellness Initiative. The initiative allows employees to earn incentives by participating in lifestyle behavior change programs. In order to meet the deadline for 2016, employees need to complete one of two sessions. The start dates for the sessions are: October 3rd, and October 17th. After creating an account in Coursera, Wellness Initiative Participants will need to join a Coursera group, which will waive the fees normally associated with the course. Participants can learn more when they enroll in the course. To get a brief introduction to the course, watch this short video: Designing Your Personal Weight Loss Plan Video. For more information about CWRU’s Wellness Initiatives, visit case.edu/wellness.