Trump revives the Presidential Fitness Test, a rite of passage for schoolchildren for decades

President Donald Trump reestablished the Presidential Fitness Test for American children, a fixture of public schools for decades that gauged young people’s health and athleticism with 1-mile runs, sit-ups and stretching exercises. “This is a wonderful tradition, and we’re bringing it back,” Trump said of the fitness test that began in 1966 but was phased out during the Obama administration. An executive order he signed in August also reinvigorates a national sports council that the president stocked with former and current athletes and other figures from the sports world. Several prominent athletes joined Trump and top administration officials. In the test, children had to run and perform sit-ups, pull-ups or push-ups, and a sit-and-reach test, but the program changed in 2012. It evolved into the Youth Fitness Program, which the government said “moved away from recognizing athletic performance to providing a barometer on students’ health.” The then-first lady Michelle Obama also promoted her “Let's Move” initiative, focused on reducing childhood obesity through diet and exercise. The Youth Fitness Test, according to a Health and Human Services Department website last updated in 2023, “minimizes comparisons between children and instead supports students as they pursue personal fitness goals for lifelong health.” The return of the exam brought mixed reactions from some who study exercise. Trump is putting a welcome focus on physical activity, but a test alone won’t make America’s children healthier, said Laura Richardson, a kinesiology professor at the University of Michigan. The exam is only a starting point that should be paired with lessons to help all students improve, she said. “It’s not just, you get a score and you’re doomed,” said Richardson, whose teaching focuses on obesity. “But you get a score, and we can figure out a program that really helps the improvement.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.