In collaboration with minority churches and other partners, the multi-year Genesis Health Project involves the creation and implementation of a community designed, culturally sensitive, self-sustaining program to reduce obesity and its related health risks and to promote healthy lifestyles among African Americans, who have the highest rates of excess weight in the U.S. It targets black families in a low-income area of Syracuse, and is empowering them to improve their diets, food preparation techniques, and exercise habits, and to maintain healthy lifestyle changes across the lifespan. 

The Genesis project is part of a larger Minority Health Initiatives program, a University-community coalition launched in 1999. Sponsored by Syracuse University’s College of Human Services and Health Professions, corporate donors, government agencies, and other regional partners, the program aims to reduce health disparities in minority populations by partnering with community organizations to identify and address health needs in greater Syracuse and Central New York, and across the nation. The program exemplifies two key elements of the Syracuse University vision: scholarship in action and community engagement.

For more information on the Genesis Health Project, click on the links below, or contact:

Dr. Luvenia Cowart, Ed.D., R.N.

Principal Investigator and Project Director

Associate Professor of Practice, Department of Health and Wellness

315-443-9808
lwcowart@syr.edu

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Background: The Problem of Obesity among African Americans

Objectives, Methods, and Program Activities

Community Partners and Funding Sponsors