Guest post by Drew Brees and Dominique Dawes, Co-Chairs of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition

National Physical Fitness and Sports Month is the perfect time for children and families to get outside and play together! You don't have to do back flips in the Olympics or throw a football 40 yards down the field to be active and break a sweat. Whether you ride your bike to work or school, or chase after your dog in the park, physical activity can be fun - and it helps you feel good too.

President Barack Obama issues a proclamation during May National Physical Fitness and Sports Month. In that proclamation, he calls on all Americans to make daily physical activity, sports participation and good nutrition a priority in their lives.

You've probably heard that today in America, one third of all children and two-thirds of all adults are overweight or obese. We know that physical activity can help build lean muscle, reduce fat, and promote strong bone, muscle and joint development. So what are you waiting for? Through her Let's Move! initiative, First Lady Michelle Obama has formed a coalition of supporters including community and faith-based organizations, schools and childcare centers, local governments, and corporations to help end childhood obesity within a generation.

This time of year in most parts of the country, the weather makes it easy to explore America's great outdoors. So the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition is challenging everyone to pick up a new activity or sport, and help guide your loved ones and neighbors to better health!

Did you know that May is also Older Americans Month? It's never too early - or too late - to lead a healthy lifestyle. We want Americans of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to set new physical activity and healthy eating goals, and track your progress online while earning a Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA+). That's right - you can actually receive presidential recognition by improving your health. What more motivation do you need to get fit?

As the First Lady often says, we want to make the healthy choice the easy choice, and PALA+ is the easy choice to jumpstart or maintain a healthy lifestyle. It doesn't matter how old you are or where you live... anyone can participate in PALA+. The physical activity requirements are 60 minutes a day for kids (30 minutes a day for adults), five days a week for six weeks. You should also add a weekly health eating goal each week and build on those goals throughout the same six weeks.

So what are you waiting for? Earn your PALA+ today, and follow us on Twitter @FitnessGov for tips to stay motivated throughout the month!

May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, a designation bestowed since 1983 and celebrated by the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition (PCFSN). Organizations including schools, public health agencies, and worksites celebrate the month to promote awareness of the value of physical activity in pursuit of happier, healthier, more productive lives. Celebrations and recognition weeks and days throughout May target specific activities or populations, such as:

May 1-7—National Physical Education and Sport Week

May 9-13—National Women's Health Week

May 18—National Employee Health and Fitness Day

May 16-20—National Bike to Work Week

May 20—Bike to Work Day 

The PCFSN kicked off its celebration of the month on Monday, May 9th, at the White House. PCFSN members joined the First Lady on the South Lawn to announce a partnership between the Council, Let’s Move!, Joining Forces, the International Health, Racquet, and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) and the American Council on Exercise (ACE) that will provide free fitness club memberships and personal training sessions to immediate family members of actively deployed reservists and National Guard members.

Following the announcement, Council members led a South Lawn Series event for families of National Guard members and reservists who were in attendance for the announcement. The First Lady kicked off the fun, participating with the members and day’s honorees in a series of stations that included an obstacle course, dance and ball toss stations among others. 

On Tuesday, May 10th, Council members gathered again for an open meeting. Approximately 120 people came to hear about the Council members’ activities. The afternoon featured presentations from individuals making a difference in physical education and school-based physical activity opportunities in their communities.

After the meeting adjourned, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the board members of the National Foundation on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. The Foundation was Congressionally‐chartered in December to help cultivate private sector partnerships and funding for key programs and initiatives of PCFSN.

Such activities may include special initiatives, such as the Million PALA Challenge. Launched last September, promotion and participation in the Million PALA Challenge is picking up steam as President’s Challenge advocates continue to roll out the initiative to their constituents and members.

The month of May presents the perfect opportunity for kids and adults across the country to make their commitment to be regularly active. Sign up at www.millionpalachallenge.org to take on the President’s Challenge and learn to be active your way. 

What are you doing this month to help get America moving?

Earlier this month, I had the privilege of attending one of the largest electronics shows in the world—the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada and experiencing the latest and greatest in active gaming. While we often associate technology with sedentary living as we text, email, or watch a screen, it can also be a tool for good. Active gaming is one way technology can encourage and promote physical activity and meet youth and adults wherever they are on the ability spectrum.

The Healthy People 2020 physical activity objectives include measures for screen time with the goal of limiting television or video game exposure to no more than 2 hours a day for youth ages 2-18 years old. However, that does not mean that the allotted 2 hours cannot include some active gaming—like active options that may be part of a comprehensive physical education curriculum.

Before attending CES I had an opportunity to see first-hand how active gaming can play a role in physical education at Kenny Guinn Middle School. Nestled within the 5th largest school district in the Nation, their physical education classes use active gaming as a way to help integrate special needs students with their peers. When the teacher asked who was excited to do some active gaming, everyone yelled “Me!” As the students rotated through the stations, I had the opportunity to work out with them. Very soon I realized that I couldn’t tell who was ‘challenged’ or not. To me they were all excited kids being active…jumping, kicking, and punching. No one was singled out or separated and each student participated to the best of their ability. And not only were they doing active gaming but they also learned about body mass index (BMI) by using bio impedence machines and ipods.

Keeping a level playing field is important as we work towards meeting the goals outlined in Healthy People 2020. Active gaming is a great way to meet youth where they are and is a fun way to promote sustained movement regardless of one’s age, fitness level or ability. After all, if my 88-year-old grandmother can play a bowling videogame and love it, I know I can too!

So, what is your favorite active game? And where do you see fitness technology taking us in the future?

**Image Caption: Shellie Pfohl, Executive Director of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition getting her daily dose of physical activity the active gaming way with the students of Kenny Guinn Middle School, Las Vegas, NV.