(Esther Wickham, The Center Square) President Donald Trump signed an executive order this week to bring back the Presidential Fitness Test to American schools.
The fitness test was introduced in 1966 by President Lyndon B. Johnson, but was phased out in 2012 during the Obama administration.
“I’m pleased to announce that we’re officially restoring the Presidential Fitness Test and the Presidential Fitness Award. And it’s going to be a very big thing,” Trump said at the executive order signing on Thursday, adding that the test “was a wonderful tradition, and we’re bringing it back.”
The fitness test requires students ages 10 to 17 to run, do sit-ups, pull-ups or push-ups and a sit-and-reach test. After 2012, it was changed to the Youth Fitness Program. The Obama administration said it wanted to focus less on athletic performance and more on student health.
Yet, the White House noted, America is still seeing a decline in health and physical fitness.
“For far too long, the physical and mental health of the American people has been neglected,” the White House stated. “Rates of obesity, chronic disease, inactivity, and poor nutrition are at crisis levels, particularly among our children.”
Joanna Faerber, an elementary physical education specialist at Louisiana State University, states that everyone can agree “childhood obesity and lack of physical activity and physical education in school is limited.”
“President Trump wants every young American to have the opportunity to emphasize healthy, active lifestyles — creating a culture of strength and excellence for years to come,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
This order has sparked some responses from health experts who express concerns over the negative impacts this could have on students’ mental health and body image.
Fitness education should be about more than how fast children can run, or how far they can stretch, Jacqueline Goodway, a kinesiology professor at Michigan State University, wrote in an email to The New York Times.
“We need to ensure our children have the skills, knowledge and behaviors for a lifetime of physical activity and physical fitness,” Goodway wrote.
Yet having something set in place is necessary for students’ physical education, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and an expert in child development, said.
“I don’t have fond memories of trying to do chin-ups,” said Hirsh-Pasek. “On the other hand, we need something.”
The executive order grants the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, which will be administered by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., made up of 30 elite athletic members, to create a new Presidential Fitness Award and develop school programs that reward excellence in physical education.
In joining the Council, golfer Bryson DeChambeau, Kansas City Chiefs placekicker Harrison Butker and former New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor, among other professional athletes, were invited to the signing at the White House.
Paul Levesque, also known as Triple H, a former professional wrestler, posted on X, expressing his gratitude in being a part of this initiative.
“Physical fitness has been a part of my life from a young age and has created the path to support myself and family beyond my wildest dreams,” Triple H wrote. “The President’s Council on Physical Fitness is a vehicle to get young people active and healthy.”
This all comes in light of the U.S. preparing to host the 2025 Ryder Cup, 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics.
