President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday (July 31) to announce the revival of the long-defaulted “Presidential Fitness Test” and the reinstatement of the “President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition” with the goal of promoting a “culture of strength and excellence” in schools nationwide. The initiative aims to encourage youth to actively engage in physical activities to enhance overall public health.
The “Presidential Fitness Test” was fully implemented during President Lyndon Johnson’s administration in 1966 and became a significant standard for measuring student fitness in American schools for decades until it was discontinued by the Obama administration in 2012.
The test includes activities such as pull-ups, a one-mile run, a short distance run, and flexibility tests, with varying scoring criteria based on age and gender to comprehensively assess the strength, endurance, agility, and flexibility of youth.
During the signing ceremony at the White House, President Trump stated, “This is a great tradition, and we want to bring it back to schools,” using “Make America Fit Again” as the promotional slogan for this initiative.
According to a White House statement, the revived program will focus on encouragement rather than punishment, utilizing incentive systems, challenge events, and public-private partnerships to improve the overall health and nutrition levels of youth in preparation for the 250th anniversary of the United States’ founding in 2026 and the 70th anniversary of the Council’s establishment.
The “Presidential Fitness Test” originated from the “President’s Council on Youth Fitness” established by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1956, as per information from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) website.
Subsequently, several presidents made adjustments to the program. For example, President Ronald Reagan expanded it to all states in 1985 and established a data collection system to track performance over the years. President George W. Bush added the “Presidential Active Lifestyle Award” to promote physical activity.
In 2012, after President Obama canceled the traditional test, he introduced the “Presidential Youth Fitness Program” the following year, shifting the focus to non-competitive assessments, nutritional education, and inclusion of students with disabilities.
The new executive order explicitly mandates the Council to promote daily exercise and healthy eating habits among youth, redesign national fitness test standards to meet contemporary needs, and establish incentive mechanisms to enhance student participation. Additionally, the Council will mobilize cooperation between the public and private sectors to strengthen public awareness of health.
The Council will consist of up to 30 members appointed by the President, serving a two-year term with the possibility of renewal, and will be led by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
The new Council members include prominent figures in the sports industry such as golfers Bryson DeChambeau (as chairman), Annika Sorenstam, Jack Nicklaus, hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, and WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Michael Levesque, known as “Triple H.”
Furthermore, last Wednesday (July 24), President Trump signed another executive order addressing the controversy surrounding the “Name, Image, and Likeness” (NIL) endorsement system for college athletes, proposing a national uniform standard. The system pertains to whether college athletes can use their identity for endorsements, receive endorsement fees, and determine their legal status as “students” or “employees.”
The new order mandates the Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board to establish rules confirming that college athletes are “amateur players” rather than school employees, while prohibiting third parties from financially incentivizing student transfers but allowing lawful endorsement contracts based on market value.
Trump stated that this measure will ensure scholarships for women and non-major sports are not impacted, prevent resources from being monopolized by a few high-revenue sports, and restore fairness and stability to the collegiate sports sector through federal intervention.