Keeping youth active
RFK Jr. promotes return of Presidential Fitness Test with demo at Newton YMCA
- News
- Main
HHS secretary says re-establishment of program is to help physical and mental health crises in youth
- Christopher Braunschweig
- Today, 07:26 PM
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. told Iowa press on Monday in Newton that the re-established Presidential Fitness Test is similar to the program he grew up with and that had been heavily expanded upon by his uncle, former President John F. Kennedy, in the 1960s
“It was a really, really important part of going to school, and it was a big part of our lives,” Kennedy said. “It was discontinued during the Obama Administration, and we’ve reimplemented it now with some slight changes. But it’s basically intended to do that same thing: To get all of our kids as active as possible.”
At the Newton YMCA on Monday, the secretary of HHS got to see the program in action with local youth participating in curl-ups, planks and push-ups and running like crazy during the 20-meter beep test. Kids walked way with a good workout and a commemorative coin handed out by Kennedy himself
In 2012, the United States shifted away from the test to a program that focused on personal wellness. However, Kennedy told reporters that removing the program from schools was a mistake. He thinks the lack of physical conditioning is leading to malaise and contributing to the physical and mental health crises
“The obesity rates in our children is up to 20 percent, and we have the highest chronic disease burden,” Kennedy said. “…Seventy-some percent of American youth cannot qualify for military service … This administration is determined to bring back the Physical Fitness Test. We already changed nutrition standards.”
U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks said that it was wonderful to have Kennedy here promoting the renewed tests and the Get Kids Active program, which is touted as a “bold national revival of health, strength and discipline” to get Americans more active and build lifelong healthy habits
“(Kennedy) is helping us to help our nation have healthier kids because they lead to healthier adults,” Miller-Meeks said, noting the federal HHS secretary has focused his efforts on childhood nutrition, physical activity and reducing screen time with children, thereby reducing chronic diseases like obesity
Why come to Iowa to promote the test? Kennedy told reporters he wanted to come to Newton because of the “tremendous pride” people have for the community. He noted the pride the community felt for the Cardinals football team, which had a very strong 2025 season that ended in a semifinals match at the UNI-Dome
Why come to the YMCA? Kennedy said the Y is an HHS partner across the nation. The Presidential Fitness Test, he added, is being re-introduced to both Boys & Girls Clubs of America and individual YMCAs during the summer. The program will be implemented into public school curriculums in the fall
Miller-Meeks is no stranger to the Newton YMCA. The congresswoman has made multiple trips to the facility over the years and has even secured millions of dollars in funding for the YMCA to expand its childcare. Miller-Meeks suggested these efforts from the Y are meeting the needs of the community and kids
“Healthy children, active children. What we’re doing on screen time, what the state has done on screen time. And then the nutritional guidance that’s come out and changing the food pyramid,” Miller-Meeks said. “All of those are important in having healthy, active children, which then lead to healthy adults.”
Kennedy told reporters that the Trump Administration is about personal choices and informed choices for health care. But, to him, there are public institutions that discourage children from going outside or getting physically active. Miller-Meeks said the test brings the option of physical activity back into the system
“The Presidential Fitness Test isn’t about competition or elite athletes or Olympians, it’s just emphasizing that activity and physical activity and outdoor activity is an option for parents,” Miller-Meeks said. “Starting that in the Y or in the school system helps to make that front-of-mind for parents.”
George Sorensen, CEO of the Newton YMCA, remembers taking the Presidential Fitness Tests as a kid. He sees value in re-implementing the program, especially considering that physical activity supports healthy growth in young people and leads to greater academic successes and improves overall mental wellbeing
“We see it here at the Y all the time with lifelong healthy habits that it creates,” Sorensen told Newton News. “…The commitment of lifelong health is important. And the Y is really an organization that is physically active into our early learning, after school, summer programs — you name it.”
He was also pleased to see kids try out the program and enjoy the activities
“It was pretty cool to see the kids on the mat today or doing the running,” he said. “And to be chosen (by the program) to come to Newton, Iowa, and have our kids be a part of that was pretty cool … It’s not about winning and losing. It’s about trying, and trying to even just get better from the last time you did it.”
