WASHINGTON — The presidential fitness test, a divisive hallmark of children’s education from the 1960s to the 2010s, is back as part of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign to promote youth health and combat chronic disease.
Experts on youth physical activity say it’s just one positive step toward getting children active, not the solution, in combating the rise of sedentary lifestyles among children. The experts STAT spoke with said that measuring fitness should be paired with additional strategies to capture children’s interest in exercise and keep it — and avoid creating unpleasant associations with physical activity.
