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COUNCIL ANNOUNCES NEW FITNESS
AWARD TO ENCOURAGE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
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 providersany 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.
###
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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