[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 131, 115th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
Proclamation 9598 of April 28, 2017

National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, 2017

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

During National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, we remind Americans
of all ages and backgrounds that maintaining a healthy and active
lifestyle is critical to long-term physical and mental well-being,
productivity, and quality of life. We also highlight the close
relationship between sports and physical fitness and the benefits
related to participation in sports, including disease prevention,
lessons in teamwork and leadership, and the practice of overcoming
adversity. In addition to their physical health benefits, sports promote
positive mentoring, discipline, and structure for young Americans.
In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower formed the President's Council
on Youth Fitness, demonstrating a national commitment to improving
health and physical fitness. President Eisenhower's legacy lives on
today in the form of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and
Nutrition, which advises me on health and fitness and engages with
communities across the country to improve youth fitness and empower
Americans to adopt healthy lifestyles that include regular physical
activity and good nutrition. My Administration will continue this
tradition, with a particular focus on promoting sports and physical
fitness among our youth.
As we each work to maintain our own physical fitness, we play a part in
building a stronger and healthier America. Failure to engage in physical
activity contributes to serious negative health outcomes, including
obesity and diseases such as type 2 diabetes, and an increased risk of
heart disease, the number one cause of death in America. Com

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plications from these health problems often impact quality of life and
frequently lead to other related and debilitating conditions.
As we celebrate National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, let us
commit ourselves to celebrating active lifestyles, promoting physical
fitness, and tackling public health issues together by making healthier
choices. Let us rededicate ourselves each day to childhood obesity
prevention, and recognize the role that sports can play in our Nation's
health and well-being. Throughout May, I encourage all Americans to eat
nutritious food, to take more time each day to be active, and to inspire
friends, family, peers, and loved ones to do the same.
Finally, the Americans who serve our Nation's youth through sports and
other physical activities deserve our collective appreciation. Whether
through coaching, driving kids to and from practice, or organizing the
leagues and events that make sport competitions possible, these
Americans make countless unseen sacrifices that merit special
recognition.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 2017, as National
Physical Fitness and Sports Month. I call upon the people of the United
States to make physical activity and sports participation a priority in
their lives.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day
of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand seventeen, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
first.
DONALD J. TRUMP