Published in the Journal of the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation in 1953 by Dr. Hans Kraus and Ruth P. Hirschland, the article expressed concern for the youth of America. According to their study,"56.6 per cent between the ages of six and nineteen failed to meet even a minimum standard required for health". In other words, the physical fitness of the youth in America was on the decline. Their second study surveyed the physical fitness of American youth with a comparison to children in European countries. In that study, American youth proved to be inferior to European youth in the issue of physical fitness.
In a culture that was competing with the world to prove its superiority, this simply would not stand. So, in 1956 under the administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the President's Council on Youth Fitness was born, and the interest of the President in the issue of youth fitness began.
Where the Eisenhower administration planted the seeds, the Kennedy administration made the movement blossom. In order to include people of all ages, he changed the name of the council to the President's Council on Physical Fitness and launched a campaign and a program designed to reach every child in public school.
Enlisting the help of Robert Preston and Meredith Wilson, Kennedy commissioned the "Chicken Fat" song. It was recorded as the new youth fitness anthem and 3 million copies were distributed to schools nationwide.
Kennedy was a man dedicated to the encouragement of physical fitness in America. He took on the issue unlike any other president. He published an article in Sports Illustrated entitled "The Soft American". He appointed Bud Wilkinson, University of Oklahoma football coach, to be the director of the President's Council on Youth Fitness.
In 1962, Kennedy did something that was very odd but also proved a point. Theodore Roosevelt had issued an executive order during his presidency calling for a challenge of the US Marine officers to hike 50 miles in 20 hours. Kennedy discovered the order and decided to issue the same challenge to White House staff and the American public. In 1963, Attorney General Robert Kennedy completed the hike in his leather oxford shoes, trudging through snow and slush.
Under Lyndon B. Johnson, the second national fitness survey was administered and the Presidential Physical Fitness Award was instituted.
In 1990, Arnold Schwarzenegger was appointed to be Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and sports by President George H.W Bush.
Under President George W. Bush, the two websites www.fitness.gov and www.presidentschallenge.org were launched.
Did this program end in 2012?
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