This past month, the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition (PCFSN) unveiled its new Presidential Youth Fitness Program. At first blush, it may seem like simply an update of the youth test familiar to generations of Americans. But that impression would represent a profound misunderstanding of the intent and content of the new test.

In fact, the Presidential Youth Fitness Program marks a fundamental shift in our national discourse on youth fitness.

As described in the PCFSN program materials, "The Presidential Youth Fitness Program places emphasis on the value of living a physically active and healthy lifestyle - in school and beyond."

Furthermore, Dr. Jayne Greenberg, a member of the PCFSN and school district administrator in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, notes that the program will "focus primarily on assessing health versus athleticism for America's youth."

So, basically, the test is no longer a tool for determining which kids won the athletic gene pool lottery. Now it's about assessing and tracking the health of American children. We at IHRSA wholeheartedly, unequivocally, and most enthusiastically applaud this new approach.

The need for this new test is urgent. While we celebrate the launch of the test, policymakers must also grapple with the "F as in Fat Report" released this month by the Trust for America's Health, which suggests that adult obesity rates could reach 60% in 13 states by 2030. All 50 states, according to the report, could experience obesity rates over 44% within 20 years.

We know that the causes of sedentary, unhealthy behaviors are varied and highly individualized, but surely the stigmatization of being labeled "unathletic" at an early age lingers destructively for many older Americans. In this new era of the Presidential Youth Fitness Program, young Americans will learn that physical activity is more than just a pull-up test or rope climb. They will learn that it's a gateway to a happier, healthier, and more productive life, regardless of one's ability to complete 60 sit-ups in one minute.

At IHRSA, we are committed to elevating and celebrating the best health club-based youth programs.

In a recent segment of IHRSA's "Ask an Industry Leader" series, we asked, "In a time when childhood obesity is at the forefront, what are good strategies for children/teen programming to get youth in my community more active and engaged in the club?"

Bill Parisi, Founder and CEO of Parisi Speed School, responded:

Youth fitness is all about motivation and engagement. Kids are noth thinking health and longevity, they want to have fun, be competitive, and most importantly, be accepted by their peers." [I also encourage clubs to] make your program inviting to the non-athlete by hiring staff who truly loves kids. The program itself does not have to be overly complicated, but it should be professional. You should have a respected youth performance brand, credible staff, and an environment that is motivating and professional.

What are some other successful strategies for creating effective youth programming?

Generous partners sometimes underwrite sophisticated marketing campaigns, reaching target audiences with carefully honed messages about health and wellness. But without such resources, proponents of physical activity must find other ways of getting the point across. This is the intersection of advocacy, strategy and ingenuity.

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) uses a special-event strategy that I'll paraphrase as "taking the show to the audience." The idea, in short, is to piggyback on a gathering that is already being planned and promoted in its own right. This eases the burden of creating an event out of whole cloth and taking on all the responsibility for planning, promoting and paying for it as a forum for your announcement. An important bonus is the added momentum such leverage lends to both events.

Savvy leaders of nonprofits use a similar strategy to communicate key points. Examples abound of campaigns relying on partner organizations' use of existing communication channels to pass along message points. Traditionally, this has meant passing on articles and online links. More recently, the headlong momentum of social media means that posts, "likes" and retweets can propel an idea faster than you can say, "Please share this."

A related notion flips the reality that, for many families, mothers are the gatekeepers of family health information. While this is quite true (and central to many programs that target women to promote family health and wellness), another strategy reaches families at their point of connection with important programs and institutions - schools.

I saw this at work recently at Capital City Public Charter School in Washington, DC. Capital City has a culture of wellness that infuses the curriculum. Students at all levels pursue age-appropriate physical activity - from in-class learning to after-school sports and field trips - guided by fitness teachers, parents and guests. Beginning in first grade, students learn about bodily systems and nutrition. The dedication to holistic fitness and wellness helped earn Capital City Public Charter School the distinction of being selected to receive the first Live Positively fitness center award by the National Foundation for Governor's Fitness Councils, chaired by Jake Steinfeld and in partnership with ACSM.

Capital City's health-and-fitness culture extends beyond students, faculty and staff. By design, those messages reach whole families. Youngsters naturally bring home and share what they learn. Beyond that, the school has after-hours programming aimed at parents and siblings. This approach clearly works, at least for this diverse urban community. And I believe it can be equally successful throughout the country.

How can your organization use established programs to convey messages about physical activity?

What communication vehicles already in use could reach target audiences with health-and-fitness information?

Written by Suzanne Hurley, CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity

Many people are aware that too few U.S. high school students in grades 9-12 are getting enough physical activity. But do you know which groups of high school students are getting less physical activity than others?

The findings of a recent school-based study - the CDC 2010 National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Study (NYPANS) - provide the answers. The results can be found in a June issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), but here are some highlights:

More high school male students than female students met the Healthy People 2020 aerobic and muscle strengthening activity objective:

• 18.5% of male high school students
• 5.8% of female high school students

Additionally, more students met the aerobic and muscle strengthening activity objective during their early high school years.

• 15.0% of 9th graders
• 12.3% of 10th graders
• 10.7% of 11th graders
• 10.3% of 12th-graders

Nationwide, only 15.3% met the aerobic objective of the Healthy People 2020 Physical Activity objectives, 51% met the muscle-strengthening objective, and 12.2% met the objective for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities.

Healthy People 2020 objectives measure recommended levels of youth physical activity and are based on the 2008 Physical Guidelines for Americans:

Youth aged 6 to 17 years need at least 1 hour of physical activity each day, and muscle strengthening activity at least 3 days a week.

To improve youth physical activity participation, efforts are needed among CDC, state and local public health agencies, schools, and other public health partners that promote physical activity.

Communities have an important role to play in supporting efforts to promote or create school-based quality physical education programs, and to create or enhance access to places for physical activity.

Listen to a Podcast on the importance of physical activity. Read more information on school guidelines and strategies.

How can you improve physical activity participation rates among all high school students?