Medical Students Rally for a Healthier City

Don't Weight to Lose, a program launched by two Tulane University medical students wanting to improve the health of New Orleans-area citizens, has become a staple in one church community.

"We wanted to give anyone interested in making improvements in their life a chance to do that," says Ryan Jupiter, co-founder of the program and fourth-year medical student. "Since we started three years ago, the sessions have grown to include an exercise component, a nutrition component and guest speakers."

Learn how Don't Weight to Lose is steering participants to healthier lives in this video produced by Alicia Duplessis Jasmin.

Jupiter, who is a native of New Orleans, has been a member of the Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans for 15 years and first suggested to his co-founder and fellow medical school classmate, Jacques Courseault, that the church community would be a great place to initiate their idea.

Courseault, who also is an experienced fitness trainer, says the program has ensued at several locations including Franklin Avenue Baptist Church and the Tulane University uptown and downtown health sciences campuses.