Trump brings back the Presidential Fitness Test, which was shelved by Obama
He also announced the reactivation of the President's Council on Sports, Physical Activity and Nutrition, which will be led by golfer Bryson DeChambeau.
Donald Trump jokes with golfer Bryson DeChambeau during the signing
President Donald Trump reinstated the Presidential Fitness Test, a test students take to find out their athletic performance that ex-President Barack Obama gradually downgraded during his term in office.
This Thursday, accompanied by several of his cabinet members, such as Vice President J.D. Vance and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Trump signed an executive order to reinstate a tradition that arose during Dwight D. Eisenhower's tenure and was eliminated by Obama.
"This is a wonderful tradition, and we’re bringing it back," Trump said before making official the reinstatement of the Presidential Fitness Test.
The president used the occasion to talk about his fondness for sports and the benefits it has outside of being physically fit.
"I was always a person that loved playing sports. I was good at sports," Trump noted. "When you are really focused on sports, you’ve thought about nothing else. To an extent, this is one of the reasons I like golf. You get away for a couple of hours."
What is the Presidential Fitness Test?
In 2013, Obama replaced it with the Presidential Youth Fitness Program, focusing it more on young people's health rather than their athletic abilities.
With its revival, the goal is to "maintain a strong and vital America," given that "rates of obesity, chronic disease, inactivity, and poor nutrition are at crisis levels, particularly among our children" and "make America active again," the Trump administration explained in a briefing sheet.
Revitalization of the President's Council on Sports, Physical Activity and Nutrition
In addition to bringing back the Presidential Fitness Test, Trump announced the revitalization of the President's Council on Sports, Physical Activity and Nutrition with the goal of "transforming children's lives."
"We have an opportunity at being the 70th anniversary of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition, to literally change the fabric of kids’ lives. Our first initiative is to bring back and reignite the president’s fitness test and also reestablish some key guidelines on building communities," said golfer Bryson DeChambeau, present at the signing and appointed chairman of the council.
In addition to DeChambeau, other athletes and former athletes such as former golfers Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player; former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, among others, will serve on the council.
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