News Release

Fitness Expert Denise Austin Begins Second Term on President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports

Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Alex M. Azar II, today presided at a swearing-in ceremony for fitness expert Denise Austin, appointed by President George W. Bush for a second term as a member of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt and Melissa Johnson, executive director of the council, were present. A nationally known television personality, health and fitness author and columnist, Austin resides in Alexandria, Virginia.

“We are privileged to have Denise Austin on the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports at one of the most critical periods in the Council’s 50-year history,” Deputy Secretary Azar said. “She has been a national leader in health and fitness for over two decades. Her appointment to a second term reflects her reputation as a respected, energetic, and enthusiastic health and fitness advocate. She is an inspiration to all who work with her at HHS as well as to the millions of Americans who have become healthier and more active through her influence. She will help shape the direction of the council, as this distinguished organization begins its next 50 years of promoting physical activity, fitness and sports for all Americans.”

During her first term as a Council member, Austin testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions' hearing, “Improved Nutrition and Physical Activity Act,” and helped launch the new food guidance system of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, www.MyPyramid.gov, in Washington, DC (April 2005).

The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports is a federal advisory committee of volunteer citizens appointed by the President to advise the administration about physical activity, fitness and sports in America and to make recommendations for programs and activities to promote active lifestyles for all ages, backgrounds and abilities. President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the council as the President’s Council on Youth Fitness in 1956, after learning the results of a report showing that American youth were less fit than their European counterparts. The council’s first members were the cabinet secretaries; the first chairman was Vice President Richard M. Nixon. President George W. Bush reinvigorated the council and established the HealthierUS Initiative in 2002.

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Last revised: January 12, 2009