Experts, School Leaders Excited About Presidential Fitness Test but Urge Reforms

Experts, school leaders excited about Presidential Fitness Test but urge reforms

Health experts and school leaders are thrilled with President Trump's revival of the Presidential Fitness Test, but they are hoping for substantial revisions to program, which was first deployed nearly 60 years ago.   Advocates say the test, which hasn't been used since 2012, will need a makeover to shift its focus away from competition and more toward sustaining healthy lifestyles for youth.  The move comes amid Trump's increased interest in th…

From 'Soft Americans' to 'Beef Jerky Toughness': Reinstating the Presidential Fitness Test Is Way Overdue

Poor health and obesity, and the chronic diseases that accompany them, cost this country billions of dollars. President Donald Trump, alongside Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is on a mission to end that, and he’s starting with our children. It’s often said that you can’t outrun a bad diet. The implication is that no matter how much we may exercise, it’s what we put in our mouths daily that predominantly determines hea…

CMS Digital Health Tech Ecosystem Is Active, Health & Fitness Of The Nation, Tariffs, White House Ballroom, OBBB Title X, Patriot Benjamin Franklin, And More

by S.E. Gunn, PhD, All News Pipeline: On July 31, 2025, President Trump signed the EO President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, and the Reestablishment of the Presidential Fitness Test which revokes the February 26, 2018 EO 13824 and amends the June 6, 2002 EO 13265 to revise the title to be “President’s Council […]

Trump is reviving the presidential fitness test. Did it work before?

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that the presidential fitness test, a hallmark of American physical education programs for more than half a century — and the bane of more

Health equity expert calls Trump’s school fitness test plan ‘political theater’

Dr. Uche Blackstock criticized President Trump’s order to bring back the Presidential Fitness Test in schools, saying a push-up and mile-run exam will not address childhood obesity.

Trump brings back Presidential Fitness Test for public schools

The test had been discontinued in 2012 and replaced with a fitness program during Barack Obama's term.