Kennedy announces fitness competition

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to announce a nationwide competition for schools aimed at expanding participation in the Presidential Fitness Test, which President Donald Trump revived last year.

Seven million in school prizes

The challenge will offer seven million dollars in prizes to schools, districts and youth organizations that demonstrate effective ways to implement the test. Another three million dollars in awards and vouchers will be available for fitness or sports equipment.

Limited current participation

Trump signed an executive order last year to bring the test back to schools. But only 161 schools on U.S. military installations are required to do so, so the administration has looked for ways to boost participation.

Application process begins Thursday

Starting Thursday, organizations can apply for the cash prizes on a new federal website, Fitness.gov. Entries can be submitted until February; then winners are expected to be announced in the spring.

What the test measures

The fitness test is a lengthy tradition in public elementary, middle and high schools that measures children's physical health based on their performance in various cardiovascular and strength exercises. Children compete to win awards by hitting certain benchmarks for their age and sex.

The exercises included

The exercises for the revived test under the Trump administration include a one-mile run, curl-ups, planks, pushups, pullups and shuttle runs. Children compete to win awards by hitting certain benchmarks for their age and sex, such as running a mile in under ten minutes.

Kennedy's fitness agenda

The test aligns with a broader interest in fitness among several top Trump administration officials. Kennedy, who often shares his own workout videos on social media, has pledged to reverse what he describes as an epidemic of chronic disease in children in part by lowering obesity rates through exercise.

Kennedy's case for competition

Kennedy has criticized the Obama administration's replacement of the test with the Presidential Youth Fitness Program, arguing that competition is good for children. He said at the signing of Trump's executive order last year that we need to teach people how to win and lose.

“If we're going to be competitive internationally, we need to be competitive with each other. We need to teach people how to win and how to lose and how to process victory and defeat.”

Experts worry about discouragement

Some researchers who study physical activity among children worry that dividing kids into winners and losers the way the Presidential Fitness Test does could discourage them from engaging in fitness. The test also rewards certain types of athletic ability, they say.

Test not a health indicator

Russell Pate, a professor of exercise science at the University of South Carolina, said the test is not an indicator of overall health. Many schools already use FitnessGram to holistically assess a child's physical health rather than their athletic skills.

Few kids meet the benchmark

Most kids will find it difficult to meet the benchmarks for the Presidential Fitness Award. Russell Pate said the award is based on high-level performance in all the test items, and only a very small percentage of kids realistically can achieve that.

“It's based on high-level performance in all the test items, and we know from long, hard experience that only a very small percentage of kids realistically can achieve that.”