Several presidents have encouraged American kids to stay active and healthy.
How national fitness programs have changed over time
After results from a study conducted in 1955 by two Swiss rock climbers, Dr. Hans Kraus and Bonnie Prudden, concluded that 58% of American students in grades kindergarten through 12th grade couldn’t pass the minimum requirements of a fitness test with six basic components – compared to 8.7% of European children – an embarrassed President Dwight Eisenhower established the Presidential Council on Youth Fitness. In 1957, the Council introduced the Presidential Fitness Challenge, which involved sit-ups, pull-ups or push-ups, a one-mile run, a shuttle run and a sit-and-reach exercise.
This test was nothing like the original Kraus-Weber version, however. According to Phil Edwards, a writer and senior producer for the Vox video team, “The original Kraus-Weber tests focused on strengthening the core, developing arm strength and improving flexibility. When the test became official, everything changed.” Citing Greg Crister’s book “Fatland,” Edwards added, “It went from Kraus-Weber fitness to military training exercise. As the test was designed by committee, it reflected the goals of the country and the priorities of people who’d formed their fitness philosophy during training in World War II.”
“It was closer to a military training exercise than a fitness regimen,” he went on to say.
When President John F. Kennedy, who also was a proponent of improving student fitness, came to power, he launched a nationwide marketing campaign encouraging schools to participate in the program, which they did. President Lyndon B. Johnson rebranded the program as the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, which rewarded the top 15% of athletes in physical education classes across the country with the Physical Fitness Award.
Rising obesity challenges the program’s effectiveness
For decades, the test fostered competition – or degradation, depending on the strength and endurance of each student. Then in June 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report revealing that the rate of obesity in American adults had spiked from approximately 13% in 1960 to around 34% by 2008. That time frame just about spanned the life of the physical health curriculum. It seemed the concept that was meant to teach children how to make long-term healthy choices based on competitive fitness experiences in school PE classes had backfired.
A shift toward wellness-based assessments
In 2013, President Barack Obama’s administration replaced the failed program with the Presidential Youth Fitness Program as an elective for students. Rather than focusing on sports, the plan was to teach wellness using the Fitness Gram Assessment developed by the Kenneth H. Cooper Institute at Texas Tech University. That course work incorporates either the mile run, 20-meter shuttle run or a walk test to measure aerobic capacity. Additionally, push-ups and curl-ups gauge abdominal muscular strength and endurance while the back saver sit and reach or shoulder stretch tests flexibility.
According to the website fitnessgram.net, “The standards are tailored for different age groups and genders, recognizing developmental differences.” The program, it says, is “designed to motivate students to improve their fitness levels without shaming or ranking. Standards emphasize fitness levels that support long-term health benefits, not short-term performance.”
Renewed interest in traditional physical fitness testing
That curriculum is changing again, however. On July 31, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to re-instate the Presidential Fitness Test. “Rates of obesity, chronic disease, inactivity and poor nutrition are at crisis levels, particularly among our children,” he stated. “These trends weaken our economy, military readiness, academic performance and national morale.”
Although details regarding the relaunch of the program and what it will entail have not been confirmed, Trevor Macy, department chair for health and physical education at R.B. Stall High School in North Charleston, said, “All of the schools across the state of South Carolina are already teaching health-based aspects of fitness and providing students with wellness tools that will prevent disease. Educating students about positive ways to make healthy lifestyle changes is a good thing.”
“The only push back is that we shouldn’t be ranking students based on performance, since that’s discouraging rather than encouraging. Instead, the focus should be on getting kids moving,” Macy added. “The Fitness Gram isn’t supposed to be competitive unless you want it to be. While we do have a leader board highlighting top performers, the current program is more about students competing with themselves and future selves. Our PE departments are conscious about working toward the same goals, and we have no tolerance for bullying or shaming.”
Sue Harter, a licensed physical therapist, a certified athletic trainer and a certified strength and conditioning specialist with Charleston Sports Medicine, concurred, stressing the importance of teaching children healthy lifestyle skills and using testing criteria to promote overall wellness. “With the onset of phones and other devices, the general youth population has deteriorated,” she said. “Obesity rates from a sedentary lifestyle, excluding athletes who participate in team and individual sports, are on the rise.”
She suggested that in addition to fitness testing, educating students about nutrition, movement and posture should have a lasting impact.
By Sarah Rose
