    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
    [June 23, 2000]
    [Pages 1236-1237]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Memorandum on Enhancing Efforts To Promote the Health of Our Young
    People Through Physical Activity and Participation in Sports
    June 23, 2000

    Memorandum for the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary
    of Education

    Subject: Enhancing Efforts to Promote the Health of Our Young People
    Through Physical Activity and Participation in Sports

        Physical activity and participation in sports are central to the
    overall health and well-being of children and adults. Adolescence is an
    especially important time to establish the habit of participation in
    daily physical activity. Sports and physical activity can introduce
    young people to skills such as teamwork, self-discipline, and
    sportsmanship. Lack of recreational activity, on the other hand, may
    contribute to making young people more vulnerable to gangs, drugs, or
    violence. Studies consistently show that adolescents who engage in
    regular physical activity have higher self-esteem and lower anxiety and
    stress. Unfortunately, daily enrollment in high school physical
    education classes dropped from 42 percent to 29 percent between 1991 and
    1999 and about 14 percent of young people ages 12-21 report no recent
    physical activity at all. Over the past 30 years, the percentage of
    young people who are overweight has more than doubled.
        The extent of this problem should not be underestimated. Last year,
    for example, the United States spent over $68 billion, or 6 percent of
    the Nation's health care expenditures, on direct health care costs
    related to obesity. According to the landmark 1996 Surgeon General's
    Report on Physical Activity and Health, inactivity and poor diet
    contribute to nearly 300,000 deaths in the United States annually. In
    conjunction with the recent National Nutrition Summit hosted by my
    Administration--the first in over three decades--I released revised
    Dietary Guidelines for Americans, including a new guideline recommending
    regular physical activity.
        My Administration has an ongoing multi-pronged effort to promote
    physical activity and fitness. The President's Council on Physical
    Fitness and Sports Participation continues to play an important role in
    promoting physical fitness and sports participation nationwide. A key
    part of the Council's work is the President's Challenge Youth Physical
    Fitness Awards Program, which offers awards for participation and
    excellence in a set of physical fitness assessments to encourage 2.9
    million students to improve and maintain physical fitness. The
    Department of Health and Human Services' National Youth Sports Program
    collaborates with participating colleges to provide summer sports
    programs in college environments to youth living in areas of urban and
    rural poverty. Currently, over 70,000 children at over 200 colleges and
    universities through this program can improve their physical fitness and
    health habits while becoming acquainted with post-secondary educational
    opportunities.
        The Department of Education also promotes physical activity and
    health in schools. My Elementary and Secondary Education Act
    reauthorization proposal includes ``Lifelong Physical Activity''
    discretionary grants as part of the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and
    Communities Act. Building on current demonstration projects by the
    Centers for Disease Control, this initiative would authorize funding for
    sites to implement programs that promote lifelong physical activity and
    health awareness during and after school by linking physical education
    with health education.
        These efforts, and many similar public and private initiatives
    around the country, are encouraging. We must now build on this
    groundwork by developing additional strategies for promoting physical
    fitness and participation in

    [[Page 1237]]

    sports, which are essential to improving individual and community
    health.
        Therefore, I direct you to identify and report back to me within 90
    days on strategies to promote better health for our Nation's youth
    through physical activity and fitness, including:
            1.  Promoting the renewal of physical education in our schools,
                as well as the expansion of after-school programs that offer
                physical activities and sports in addition to enhanced
                academics and cultural activities;
            2.  Encouraging participation by private sector partners in
                raising the level of physical activity and fitness among our
                youth; and
            3.  Promoting greater coordination of existing public and
                private resources that encourages physical activity and
                sports.
        In developing these strategies, you shall work with the U.S. Olympic
    Committee, and other private and nongovernmental sports organizations,
    as appropriate.
        By identifying effective new steps and strengthening public-private
    partnerships, we will advance our efforts to prepare the Nation's young
    people for lifelong physical fitness.

                                                          William J. Clinton

    Note: An original was not available for verification of the content of
    this memorandum.