WASHINGTON, DC – Wednesday, First Lady Michelle Obama joined kids from the Washington, DC area to launch the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition and introduce the 2010 Council co-chairs and members. In conjunction with the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative, this year President Obama has broadened the scope of the Council, formerly known as the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, to include a focus on healthy eating as well as active lifestyles. Yesterday, the President signed an Executive Order outlining the Council’s new emphasis on both good nutrition and physical fitness.
“This year we’re expanding the work of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition to include not just a focus on active lifestyles, but on healthy eating, too,” Mrs. Obama said. “The Council will play an important role in our effort to help combat childhood obesity in this country and I am grateful to the athletes, chefs, doctors and nutrition experts who are volunteering their time on the Council to help make a difference.”
In addition to its presidential advisory role, the Council promotes and maintains the President’s Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Awards program (President’s Challenge) which encourages all Americans to include physical activity – 30 minutes per day for adults and 60 minutes per day for youth – in their daily lives. For more information about the President’s Challenge programs, visit www.presidentschallenge.org.
Among the selections to the council made by President Obama is Roush-Fenway Racings Carl Edwards.
Edwards is a championship NASCAR driver and currently in the top ten in the overall standings for both the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series. In the first 10 years of his career, Mr. Edwards has accumulated two NASCAR sanctioned track championships, three Rookie-of-the-Year honors, and more than 75 feature wins while racing on both dirt and pavement tracks across the country. In 2008, he won the Tag Heuer Top Racecar Driver of the Year Award, the NASCAR.COM Driver of the Year, and the National Motorsports Press Association voted him as the Richard Petty Driver of the Year. He also supports charities including the Speedway Children’s Charities, Dream Factory, and Victory Junction Gang Camp.
Other appointee’s include NFL quarterback Drew Brees, Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes, NFL star Tedy Bruschi, NBA All-Start Grant Hill, tennis legend Billie Jean King, Michelle Kwan, the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history and 2006 NBA rookie of the year Chris Paul.
The Council’s mission is to engage, educate and empower all Americans to adopt a healthy lifestyle that includes regular physical activity and good nutrition. For more information about the Council and its members, visit www.fitness.gov.
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