Tennessee HBCUs Take On Obesity - Higher Education: As a pre-med student and biology major, Fisk University junior Contessa Davis has learned largely through volunteering as a Student Health Ambassador in public health initiatives that it often takes the dedicated work of “door-to-door canvassing” and other direct communication with individuals to persuade them to adopt healthy lifestyles.
“The bottom line is that, whether it’s research or interventions to help individuals learn about healthy eating, the goal is to decrease the health disparities within our communities,” she says.
This spring, Davis will be among a number of Fisk students and staff participating in an obesity awareness campaign at the Nashville-based historically Black private university. Last week, the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) announced that Fisk and four other historically Black institutions are part of a grant program aimed at the schools educating their respective campus communities about the dangers of obesity. In addition to Fisk, the campaigns are under way at Tennessee State University in Nashville, LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Knoxville College in Knoxville and Lane College in Jackson.
