Q: What is the Presidential Physical Fitness Award?
A: Nearly 70 years ago during the Eisenhower administration, the President’s Council on Youth Fitness developed a program to prioritize physical fitness, strength and healthy habits among America’s school-age children. Post-World War II, President Dwight Eisenhower wanted to ensure American youth didn’t fall behind their counterparts around the world, saying he wanted to achieve a “more completely fit American youth.” The council recommended a presidential award to foster and recognize physical fitness through a series of exercises incorporated into physical education (P.E.) curricula at schools across the country. President-elect John F. Kennedy embraced the campaign and lamented what he dubbed “The Soft American” in a policy statement that suggested America’s “growing softness, our increasing lack of physical fitness, is a menace to our security…such softness on the part of the individual citizen can help to strip and destroy the vitality of a nation.” A decade after President Eisenhower sparked the conversation, the Presidential Physical Fitness Award was formalized in 1966 during LBJ’s administration. For generations of Americans, the fitness test became a rite of passage among their peers from one year to the next in P.E. class. During the Reagan administration, a five-part series of benchmark tests included a one-mile run; sit-ups; pull-ups or push-ups; the shuttle run; and the sit-and-reach to gauge flexibility. Students from ages 10-17 who met or exceeded national standards were eligible to receive a presidential patch that served as a badge of honor for their physical fitness and athletic achievements. The decades-long tradition ended during the Obama administration.
Q: Why did President Trump sign an executive order to restore the program?
A: Athletic icons representing the top echelons of American sports joined President Trump at a signing ceremony in July at the White House to reinstate the Presidential Fitness Test. The executive order also resurrects the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition to jump-start a nationwide effort in collaboration with parents, educators, coaches and mentors to end childhood chronic diseases and encourage school kids to adopt healthy lifestyles, physical fitness, strength and vitality. The Presidential Fitness Test aligns with the Make America Healthy Again campaign and will be administered by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. At the ceremony, President Trump said it’s time to make “fitness fun, competitive and cool again.”
As a lifelong family farmer, I’ve long appreciated the physical and mental grind that comes with daily chores and the busy planting and harvest seasons. As someone who started jogging for the first time at age 65, I’ve also learned the tremendous benefits of a regular exercise regimen for cardiovascular and mental fitness. It cultivates discipline, commitment and resilience. Obesity and sedentary lifestyles have become a chronic, generational challenge in our society, adding to health care costs and impacting quality of life. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a recent estimated annual medical cost of obesity in U.S. children was $1.3 billion. About 1 in 5 American children and adolescents have obesity. According to the CDC’s annual Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a student’s academic success is linked to physical activity; students who participate in at least an hour of daily physical activity are more likely to earn higher grades. What’s more, students with higher grades are less likely to lead a sedentary lifestyle, watch television or play video games for three or more hours a day. I commend President Trump for shining a spotlight on physical fitness among the next generation. I hope the relaunched Presidential Fitness Test will inspire young people to strive and achieve their personal best and pursue active lifestyles throughout their lifetimes.