Will a Policy Focus on Physical Fitness and Youth Sports Drive Innovation?
Our Privacy Policy has been updated! The Conference Board uses cookies to improve our website, enhance your experience, and deliver relevant messages and offers about our products. Detailed information on the use of cookies on this site is provided in our cookie policy. For more information on how The Conference Board collects and uses personal data, please visit our privacy policy. By continuing to use this Site or by clicking "ACCEPT", you acknowledge our privacy policy and consent to the use of cookies. 

A presidential proclamation on May 24 echoed the actions of President Eisenhower in 1956. Back then, Eisenhower was concerned about the relative fitness of American youth compared to their European counterparts and established the President’s Council on Youth Fitness to address the gap.

Will a Policy Focus on Physical Fitness and Youth Sports Drive Innovation?

June 03, 2025

A presidential proclamation on May 24 echoed the actions of President Eisenhower in 1956. Back then, Eisenhower was concerned about the relative fitness of American youth compared to their European counterparts and established the President’s Council on Youth Fitness to address the gap.

The new proclamation on National Physical Fitness and Sports Month calls back to this mission, part of the administration’s drive to “Make America Healthy Again” (the commission’s report has just published).

Why this matters:

  • History demonstrates this type of initiative opens doors for profitable innovation—from new types of athletic equipment to new vitamin supplements in food, as explored in this New York Times article from 1986.
  • Former initiatives also change the way educational establishments treat fitness (e.g. the Presidential Fitness Test, and the Obama administration’s Let’s Move). The burgeoning multi-billion-dollar business of college sports, the feeder system of high

Author

This publication is available to you, but you need to sign in to myTCB® or create an account to access it.

myTCB® Members get exclusive access to webcasts, publications, data and analysis, plus discounts to events.

More From This Series

Publications

Administration Considers $10-14 Billion in Aid for Farmers

Administration Considers $10-14 Billion in Aid for Farmers

October 08, 2025 | Newsletters & Alerts

Implications of Government Shutdown

Implications of Government Shutdown

October 01, 2025 | Article

Federal Budget Tracker

Federal Budget Tracker

October 01, 2025 | Additional Resources

Tariff Tracker

Tariff Tracker

September 30, 2025 | Additional Resources



Upcoming Events


Press Releases / In the News