"BE PHYSICALLY ACTIVE EVERY DAY"

I thank the National Press Club for inviting me here today and members of the media for attending.

I also want to recognize all of you from health and physical activity organizations, who have taken time to come here today.

Some of you may remember me as a wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers, or even further back to my days as a Trojan at USC.

Or you might recognize me from my 25 years as an ABC broadcaster.

But I would guess none of you remember me as the third and youngest son of Willie and Mildred Swann from Blount County, Tennessee, where I was born.

My mom, Mildred, always wanted a girl. 

So when I was born, she named me Lynn.  She sent me to dancing school.

By the time I got around to playing sports, I had become a good dancer.  But it took a lot of time, effort, practice and support from many sources to make me a good athlete.  You'd be amazed at what kids can do when they try.

I am honored to be appointed by President Bush to serve as Chairman of his President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.  The other council members and I are very excited about the work that we are doing and we hope to be able to make a profound impact on the health and fitness of Americans.

And I remember one day, talking to the head football coach at the University of Texas in Austin.  And he told me that Governor Bush worked out at their facility.  What impressed him was the governor's diligence and commitment to physical fitness. 

His public and personal commitment to physical fitness and exercise is something that has stuck with me throughout the past several years.

And it's something that helped me in my decision to accept this responsibility.

There couldn't be a better president to be working for as Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

President Bush doesn't just play lip service to physical activity; he plays sweat service.

His activities—running and working out—are an integral part of his everyday life.

When it comes to exercise, President Bush is not asking us to do what he says . . .he's only asking us to do a little bit of what he does.

President Bush and Secretary Thompson have a vision of a healthier United States, an America where people are empowered to make healthy choices.

In brief, they want each one of us to:

-Be physically active every day.

-Eat a nutritious diet

-Get preventive screenings, and

-Avoid risky behaviors.

I want to help them achieve that vision of an active, healthy America.

As a parent, I'm proud of my two boys; they're five and six. They do karate and can do more sit-ups than most adults who are in shape.

But as Chairman of the President's Council, I feel like I have a lot more than two children to worry about, probably closer to 100 million. I'm worried about our children's health.

American elementary school children are now being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.  Once thought of as only adult diseases, they have trickled into our homes and schools. We are not giving enough attention to our children's daily nutrition and physical activity.

In the past two decades the proportion of children and teens in America who are overweight or obese has tripled. Nine million kids are carrying excess weight, with millions more at serious risk.

Television and computer games have taken the place of physical activity for many American children.  And kids are playing more football on their PlayStation then they are on their playground.

If the trend continues, this generation of school children may be the first in modern times to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.

It's time for change. Not since the founding of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in 1956 has there been such a great need for leaders take a stand on the nation's health.

Last year, Secretary Tommy Thompson stood at this podium and told you, "A Little Prevention Won't Kill You." 

He said, "we spend millions of dollars on treatment and it's time for America to put on a preventive wellness campaign."

Did you know that we spend $117 billion a year on medical costs related to overweight and obesity . . . And an additional $100 billion on the costs associated with type 2 diabetes?

Think of the loss of productivity, the pain and suffering caused by obesity, diabetes, and stress!  What if we had that $200 billion available for other things?

What would our schools look like if we had billions more for them?

What would our transportation system look like if we had additional billions of dollars for roads and public transit?

How about our parks and recreation facilities?  Or our national defense?

In January 1961, newly elected President John F. Kennedy summoned the nation he was about to lead and said  "….ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country."

He invoked this American spirit at a time when our nation faced a great crisis:  a growing threat from the Cold War.

Today, our battle against obesity is another major threat to our well being as a nation.

That fight is costing America much more than the $200 billion I mentioned earlier. It also costs 300,000 lives each year.

Every day, almost 1,000 Americans die because they chose a sedentary lifestyle and a poor diet.

The government can't buy us a healthier nation. It's not a law that Congress can pass.  It's a change in the lifestyle and culture of each individual citizen, of our families.

As the President says, "Better health is an individual responsibility and an important national goal."

So back to the question, "What can you do for your country now?"

The answer is, take care of yourself and your family: start moving every day; eat a healthy diet; get screened for high blood pressure and diabetes; and don't expose yourself to high risk situations and behaviors.

We on the council are going around the country to spread the President's vision of a healthier U.S, announced last summer when he introduced the new Council members. He gave us the charge to take the lead in helping Americans be physically active every day.

At the President's Council, we want to give Americans more than a just mandate to be active . . .We want to offer tools to get Americans moving today.

Some of you may remember taking the presidential fitness test while you were in school or heard your child talking about it.

If you passed the test you got an award like this—a presidential patch.
(hold up a Presidential fitness patch).

Or did you have trouble with the pull-ups?

The program has evolved so that all kids who take the test receive recognition, not just the ones with the best performance.

Today our President's Challenge is much more than a test. It's a tool to help all Americans become active now and stay active for a lifetime.

I am taking this opportunity today to announce to the nation for the first time the new awards of the President's Challenge program, the "Presidential Active Lifestyle Awards." 

Now, for the first time since the Council began in 1966, adult Americans can join kids and participate in the President's Challenge awards.

The Presidential Active Lifestyle Awards are for everyone:  children, teens, adults at home and at work, seniors, and people with disabilities and health conditions. 

On your table, you'll find these brochures and activity logs
(hold up the Presidential Active Lifestyle Awards brochure).

• If you're an adult and you're active 30 minutes a day 5 days a week, this is your award (hold up patch and certificate).
   
• There is an award for children for 60 minutes a day.
   
• Every activity counts: walking the dog, sweeping the floor, taking the stairs, washing the car, raking leaves, playing tag with your kids, biking, swimming, playing sports, walking with a pedometer.
   
• After 6 weeks, you send in the log to the program office.

The benefits of regular physical activity are widely known.  Not only do you live longer.  But your immune system improves and your productivity increases.

To businesses this means fewer sick days and more product at the end of the day.

The General Mills Corporation is already joining us and will use the President's Challenge for their employee fitness program. We want other businesses to take the President's Challenge for employee health and fitness.

Communities can participate too.

My hometown of Blount County, Tennessee, has one of the highest stroke rates in the nation.  They also have alarming rates of coronary disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.

But the poor health of Blount County isn't unique.  It is a microcosm of a nation in physical peril – something I have seen first-hand as I travel across this country.

When people want to improve and make a serious commitment to be more physically active, you will begin to see marked improvements and a healthier community. That's already happening in Blount County.

Blount County is taking the President's Challenge for their community wellness program.  They are using the Presidential Active Lifestyle Awards to motivate their citizens to take small initial steps that offer big rewards for health.

And I'm looking forward to going back to Blount County in April to recognize their success in helping their people begin to be physically active every day.

At the President's Council we strive to support President Bush the HealthierUS Initiative in any way that we can.

So we are enhancing the President's Challenge.

Increasingly, Americans obtain information, especially health information, from the web.

We now have health and fitness experts working with web developers to create an interactive web site for the President's Challenge.

It will allow Americans of all ages and abilities to keep track of their activities and work towards Presidential awards on line.

The new President's Challenge web site will be fun and scientifically sound.

And the interactive Challenge web site will be available free of charge.

The new President's Challenge web site will be a powerful tool for families, schools, organizations, businesses, hospitals and health care providers, senior activity centers—anyone and everyone who wants to be active or to motivate other people to be physically active every day.

Our programs will continue to be offered in paper form for those who do not use the web.

When the new President's Challenge interactive web site is complete, we'll launch it nationally. 

But you don't have to wait for our Web site. 

All Americans can start taking the President's Challenge today.  Pick up the activity log and start moving now.

I challenge the journalists here to begin recording your physical activity today.

Make a commitment to be physically active at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week for the next six weeks.  And even in that short amount of time, you'll notice results.

You'll feel better and you'll look better, you'll be more active and more productive.  All from taking a few simple steps.

Some of you may be thinking, "It's easy for you, Lynn Swann, to come up here and talk to us about physical fitness-- you're a former professional athlete.  A hall of fame football player with Super Bowl rings."

In addition to my obligation, as Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, to help all Americans improve their health, I'm also a parent, a community member, and a friend. Friends can help their friends get fit.

A few years ago I was talking to my attorney, a good friend. 

I told him that I was going to fire him.  Not because he was a bad lawyer or didn't represent me well.

But I was afraid he was going to die.  You see, he weighed over 350 pounds and was only 5'6".

I said I was going to fire him because I didn't want to be worried about my finances when he died an early death because he didn't take care of himself.

If I fired him I'd be able to mourn the death of a good friend without wondering where all of my contracts and contacts were.

I think at that moment it "clicked" for him.  He started to walk, eat healthier and lose weight.

And it wasn't easy.  In the beginning he could barely walk 20 minutes.  But he stuck to it.

It took him a long time to drop his weight.  But he made it a commitment and eventually saw the results he was looking for.

You have to remember, it's taken you a lifetime to gain your weight, and it's going to take a life-change to get rid of it.

But today, my friend, who weighed 350 pounds, is down to 165 and now runs marathons as a hobby. All it took to get him started was a wake-up call from a friend.

Everyone can use help. I want to tell you a story about a little boy from Tennessee. Growing up he became a pretty good dancer, but he wasn't a particularly good athlete when he first started playing sports.

He had parents that encouraged him to be a good student, a reliable member of the community, and imbued within him a strong sense of faith.

They encouraged him to play sports and helped make opportunities for him to learn and improve. His school, church and community backed him.

That young boy from Tennessee soon learned to play football on the playground and improved through hard work and practice in the youth leagues and high school and college, and he eventually made it to the NFL.

What I learned from sports is this: I didn't know what I was capable of until I tried.

Now I know that not everyone can be a professional athlete.  And I consider myself very blessed and very fortunate to have had success on the gridiron.

But when kids and adults begin to be physically active, to play sports, to walk, run, swim or bike, they will be surprised at the things that they are good at.

Of course, some people just aren't good athletes, but even they will be surprised at what they can accomplish and what they can succeed at.

All you have to do is begin. All you have to do is keep trying. Small steps bring big rewards. Together, step-by-step, day-by-day, we can build a healthier U.S.

Thank you.                 ###

####

Main | Help | Contact | Other Resources |  Privacy |
Physical Activity Matters | The Active Life | Fit 'n Active Kids |
 About PCPFS | President´s Challenge | Timely Topics Archive

Are you in good general health?

Then our information is for you!  Click the heart.