Executive Order Signed In Keeping With Make America Healthy Again Movement

On Thursday, July 31, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reinstate the Presidential Fitness Test, a longtime youth physical assessment program. The order directs the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition to develop strategies that improve America’s physical health and renew the national spirit.

That spirit, Trump said, was marked by “excellence, competitiveness, and sportsmanship.”

Building on that, Trump announced he would reinstate the Presidential Fitness Test and Award.

The Presidential Fitness Test originated from the Youth Fitness Program, established in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. In 2012, President Barack Obama discontinued the test and replaced it with the Presidential Youth Fitness Program.

With next year being the 70th anniversary of the founding of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, the renewal of the test and the award is in keeping with the values held by the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again movement.

The executive order states:

“As the United States approaches its semiquincentennial anniversary in 2026, we must confront the threat that declining health and physical fitness pose to our country’s vitality and longevity. For too long, we have neglected the physical and mental health of the American people.”

Unfortunately, rates of obesity, chronic disease, inactivity, and poor nutrition have, sadly, reached crisis levels. These trends weaken our economy, military readiness, academic performance, and national morale.”

What Is The Presidential Fitness Test?

Described by many as a “rite of passage,” the Presidential Fitness Test evaluated students age six to 17 on their proficiency in five key physical areas.

The test included:

• One-mile run: how fast can you run a mile?
• Sit-ups: in one minute, how many sit-ups can you do?
• Pull-ups or push-ups: what is the maximum amount of pull-ups or push-ups you can complete?
• Sit-and-reach: how flexible are you?
• Shuttle run: how agile are you?

Students earned the Presidential Fitness Award by reaching or exceeding the top 15th percentile in the test.

Notably, Trump’s executive order did not outline the standards for the renewed Presidential Fitness Test.

RFK Jr. On His Uncle’s Commitment To Fitness

Before President Trump signed the executive order to reinstate the Presidential Fitness Test and Award, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was invited to speak about the importance of renewing these youth athletic programs.

He began by noting that, importantly, his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, wrote the article “The Soft American” for Sports Illustrated in December 1960.

“[My uncle] lamented that America had long prided itself on its beef jerky toughness. He said we were losing that,” RFK Jr. said. “With that article, he signaled he would make kids’ physical fitness the centerpiece of his administration.”

In his essay “The Soft American,” JFK wrote:

“For the physical vigor of our citizens is one of America’s most precious resources. If we neglect this resource and let it weaken, we will lose much of our ability to face future challenges. We will be unable to realize our full potential as a nation.”

Concluding his essay, JFK wrote, “We do not want our children to become a generation of spectators. Rather, we want each of them to be a participant in the vigorous life.”

RFK Jr. reminisced about the importance of the Presidential Fitness Test in his youth, adding, “For me, it was a huge source of pride growing up.” We need to re-instill that spirit of competition and that spirit and that commitment to nutrition and physical fitness.”

Watch the full executive order signing, here:

Other Comments

Several members of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition attended the executive order signing ceremony.

These included professional golfer Bryson DeChambeau, Kansas City Chiefs placekicker Harrison Butker, former NFL linebacker Lawrence Taylor, and WWE CCO Triple H.

The White House released a video on July 31 highlighting the work of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition.