Washington, DC
The Physical Activity Alliance (PAA), the nation’s leading coalition dedicated to advancing physical activity, commends President Trump, Secretary Kennedy, and the Administration for elevating physical activity as a health status assessment in the Make Our Children Healthy Again report. Recognizing movement as a vital measure of health is an essential step toward reversing inactivity trends and improving the well-being of America’s children.
The report highlights important strategies to increase physical activity and fitness with an emphasis on comprehensive school physical activity programs, revitalizing the Presidential Youth Fitness Program, developing quality measures, advancing longitudinal research for chronic disease prevention, and promoting activity in early care, education, and community programs. These strategies—combined with reinstating the Presidential Fitness Test, expanding afterschool opportunities, and launching new public awareness campaigns through the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition—signal a renewed national commitment to making daily movement an expected and supported part of every child’s life. PAA stands ready to support the Administration in these efforts, including ensuring that any reinstatement of the Presidential Fitness Test is flexible enough to succeed, enabling schools to adopt strategies that promote mental health and recognize individual growth and improvement alongside national standards.
Through our It’s Time to Move initiative, PAA has been leading the development of national standards to integrate physical activity into health care, including the HL7 FHIR Physical Activity Implementation Guide completed in 2024. This framework provides a consistent, evidence-based way to measure and track activity as a health status assessment, while supporting seamless integration into health systems and electronic health records and allowing for seamless referral into evidence-based community programs.
“Physical activity is one of the most powerful levers we have to improve health, resilience, and well-being,” said Michael Stack, President of the Physical Activity Alliance. “We are encouraged by the Administration’s inclusion of physical activity and fitness as part of the response to childhood chronic disease. But strategies only succeed if they are implemented well, and that is where PAA stands ready to help.”
The Make Our Children Healthy Again report cites the Youth Report Card for Physical Activity, a longstanding benchmark of how our children are doing. Too often, America has fallen short—earning grades no parent would celebrate. PAA is committed to changing that trajectory: working together, we can raise our nation’s grade in physical activity to a level all Americans can be proud of.
Equally important, the National Physical Activity Plan, developed with input from diverse experts and sectors, outlines proven strategies to address the very issues raised in the report, from school-related inactivity and decreased recess to the erosion of daily movement opportunities. It provides a clear roadmap to turn bold recommendations into real, sustained progress.
The groundwork developed with leading experts and tested across major platforms positions PAA to be an effective partner in bringing the Administration’s recommendations to life. From establishing reliable data standards to building the patient and provider tools that make activity tracking actionable, to connecting school and community programs with evidence-based best practices, PAA is committed to ensuring physical activity is fully embedded in U.S. health care, education, community settings, schools, workplaces and public health practice.
PAA brings together multisector partners to ensure every child has opportunities to be active where they live, learn, and play. PAA works closely with federal and state partners, schools, and community leaders to:
● Support evidence-based implementation of physical activity policies and programs in schools, healthcare, and communities.
● Provide technical assistance and training to ensure that strategies like the Presidential Youth Fitness Program are delivered effectively and sustainably.
● Elevate the voices of parents, educators, clinicians, and communities to ensure solutions are practical, accessible, and impactful.
Together with the Administration, allied organizations, and communities nationwide, we can make physical activity the cornerstone of prevention, helping more children move every day and building healthier futures for all Americans.
About the Physical Activity Alliance
The Physical Activity Alliance (PAA) is a national nonprofit coalition working to make the active choice the easy choice for all Americans. Through advocacy, partnerships, and evidence-based solutions, PAA helps integrate physical activity into healthcare, education, workplaces, and communities to reduce chronic disease and improve quality of life.