    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
    [March 20, 2008]
    [Pages 407-408]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the National President's Challenge
    March 20, 2008

        Thank you all. Please be seated. I'm honored to be joined by members
    of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. And today
    I've got an announcement to make as to how to encourage our fellow
    citizens to exercise more.
        First, I do want to thank the Chairman of this Council, John
    Burke. His business is to make mountain bikes,
    Trek mountain bikes. [Laughter] I use Trek mountain bikes. [Laughter]
    That's not why he's the Chairman. [Laughter] But I like to exercise a
    lot. And I hope my fellow citizens learn to love exercise as well. It's
    good for your mind, exercise is good for your body, and it's good for
    your soul. If you ride mountain bikes, make sure you keep your eyes on
    the road--[laughter]--because sometimes you can go over the handlebars--
    [laughter]--which I have done.
        I want to thank the members of the Council for their good work to
    promote physical fitness. I believe physical fitness is a vital issue
    for our country. Nearly two-thirds of American adults are overweight or
    obese. That's too many. More than half of American adults do not get
    enough physical activity to realize the health benefits. Not enough
    people are exercising. The benefits include lower risk for many serious
    conditions, ranging from heart disease to diabetes to depression.
        America's young people are three times more likely to be overweight
    than they were three decades ago. Lack of physical fitness places a huge
    financial burden on our Nation. Diseases linked to unhealthy habits
    drive up the price of health care for all Americans.
        So we're encouraging Americans to take personal responsibility for
    their own health. And one way we're doing so is through the HealthierUS
    Initiative. Now this is an initiative I announced in 2002. And the key--
    program had four key components.
        First, be physically active every day. People say, ``I don't have
    time to be physically active every day.'' Well, my suggestion is, make
    time. Secondly, eat well. Thirdly, get preventive screenings. And
    fourthly, you know, don't do stupid things to your body--like drugs and
    tobacco and excessive alcohol.
        Today we're unveiling a new way to encourage people across the
    United States to boost their physical activity, and to have some fun
    doing it. It's called the National President's Challenge. I appreciate
    very much the Acting Surgeon General Steve Galson is with us, and the person who
    went to the Press Club and kind of lent a little extra stuff to the
    announcement, and that would be Eli Manning. You know, he helped kick
    off this initiative, and he probably thought he'd be--not having to deal
    with kickoffs anytime after the Super Bowl. [Laughter] But I want to
    thank you all very much for helping to highlight an interesting and
    exciting and a fun way for people to realize the benefits of physical
    activity.
        So here's how it works. First, you can go online at
    www.presidentschallenge.org--www.presidentschallenge.org--and you can
    sign up to participate. You can sign up as an individual, or you can
    sign up as a group, which would be kind of a fun way to work out
    together. The deadline, by the way, for signing up is April the third.
    So get on your web page there and sign up.
        Secondly, you get to decide how you're going to meet your physical
    fitness goal. In other words, you set a goal, and then you pick the
    exercise or activity. And there's about 100 different activities to
    choose from, ranging from gardening or skydiving. [Laughter] So I
    suspect my father will be signing up for
    skydiving. [Laughter] Mother wants him to sign
    up for gardening. [Laughter]

    [[Page 408]]

        Thirdly, start exercising. If you're an adult--and that means 30
    minutes of activity a day, 5 days a week; or if you're a kid, 60
    minutes. That's--it's not that hard to do if you prioritize and
    discipline yourself. You've got 6 weeks of activity to meet the
    challenge; in other words, this ends on May the 15th.
        Fourth, you keep track of your activities. In other words, there's
    the--on the web site there's an activity log that will help make it
    easier to track whether or not you're accumulating enough points to get
    an award.
        And that's the fifth step. Individuals who meet their fitness goals
    can receive certificates and medals. Schools that meet their goals will
    be honored. And when you register, be sure to include the State you're
    from, because all of us here--up here on the stage will be watching to
    see which State has the highest percentage of participants. And of
    course, there will be proper recognition for the State that does the
    best. I suspect Texas will do very well. [Laughter] I certainly hope so.
        I want to thank the members of the President's Physical--Council on
    Physical Fitness and Sports for leading the effort. I really appreciate
    your care about the country. I want to thank you for thinking
    innovatively about how to, you know, encourage our fellow citizens to
    become active. I wish my citizens the fellow best as they sign up for
    this exciting new challenge. Have good exercise, have fun, and remember,
    you'll have a healthy tomorrow when you do so. God bless.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:09 p.m. in the East Garden at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Eli Manning, quarterback, National
    Football League's New York Giants.