[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.