WASHINGTON, DC – Lynn Swann, Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, today urged Americans of all ages to "Be Physically Active Every Day." In his remarks at the National Press Club, Swann offered a new tool to build a regular activity routine to help prevent chronic health conditions like type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Through the Council's new motivational program, the Presidential Active Lifestyle Awards, American adults can join children and teens participating in the Council's longstanding youth physical fitness program, the President's Challenge. Though that award has been offered to school age children since 1966, the Presidential Active Lifestyle Awards offer the first opportunity for adults to participate in the program.
Increasingly, trends show that Americans are adopting sedentary lifestyles and poor eating habits. Seven in ten adults are not regularly active. Nearly one-third of US adults are now classified as obese, and young people are increasingly overweight. The problem of overweight/obesity in America costs $117 billion annually and accounts for at least 14 percent of deaths in the US, or some 300,000 premature deaths each year. Unhealthy behaviors have led to an increased prevalence of diabetes and pre-diabetes.
Both President George W. Bush and Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson have identified prevention as the key to reversing our nation's escalating obesity epidemic. When Swann was named Council chair in June 2002, the President asked the Council to focus on preventing obesity through his "HealthierUS" prevention initiative.
An NFL Hall of Fame member, former Pittsburgh Steeler, and ABC sportscaster for over two decades, Swann spoke about the importance of becoming and staying physically active for a lifetime. "I had no idea what I was capable of until I participated in physical activity. Not everyone is an athlete, but people will be surprised at what they can achieve through a commitment to a healthier lifestyle and a regular activity routine," Swann said.
The Presidential Active Lifestyle Awards are tools to help Americans of all ages commit to being active for life. By engaging in regular physical activity for 6 weeks on five days a week, participants can earn an award patch. There are no fitness requirements or tests. Adults must complete at least 30 minutes a day of physical activity five days a week, and children, 60 minutes. The award is for any kind of movement, such as walking, sweeping the floor, taking the stairs instead of elevators, using a pedometer to accumulate steps or active play. Adults are encouraged to earn the award with their children and teens to encourage family fitness.
In the future, Swann said, Americans will be able to track their activities on a new President's Challenge web site, now under development. The web site will be free, interactive, and available to employee fitness programs, schools, health and wellness centers, gyms, hospitals, health care providers—any individual, business, or organization that wants to promote the active lifestyle.
In the meantime, individuals can start earning an award using a paper activity log available through the Council. Participation is free though there is a nominal fee for the award itself, an embroidered Presidential patch and certificate. Activity logs for the Presidential Active Lifestyle Awards may be requested from the Council by telephone (202) 690-9000 or downloaded from www.presidentschallenge.org and www.fitness.gov the official web site of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
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Contact:
Janice Meer
President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
Room 738 H, Hubert H. Humphrey Building
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201-0004
(202) 690-5179
FAX (202) 690-5211
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