During the 1940s, the
American Medical Association and the
National Committee on Physical Fitness had a joint committee encouraging physical fitness. On July 16, 1956,
President Dwight Eisenhower established The President's Council on Youth Fitness to encourage national improvement in children’s physical health. In 1963,
President Kennedy changed the council's name to President's Council on Physical Fitness to reflect its role to serve all Americans. In 1972, the Presidential Sports Award Program was created. In 1983, the
United States Congress declared May as National Physical Fitness and Sports Month. In 1996, the Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health was released. In 1997, the council released its report on Physical Activity and Sport in the Lives of Boys. In June 2010, President
Barack Obama renamed the agency the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, with a new emphasis on nutrition as an element of fitness.
First Lady Michelle Obama announced the new commission's goal "to end the epidemic of childhood obesity in a generation" as part of her
Let's Move! initiative, and also announced that the president had named, as the new co-chairs of the council,
New Orleans Saints quarterback
Drew Brees and former Olympic gymnast
Dominique Dawes. On January 11, 2012, operators of the website for participants of the Challenge and Active Lifestyle programs learned that the site had been
hacked, resulting in the release of personal information of the participants. The President's Challenge site displayed a notice that it was down for "Site Maintenance – We're taking a little breather." On January 27, 2012, The President's Challenge sent out emails to its participants saying that the website was functional as of January 24, 2012, and asked participants to reset their user passwords. On July 31, 2025,
President Donald Trump reestablished the
Presidential Fitness Test as part of the council's mandate, and revised the council membership to include up to 30 members. The executive director and council chair designations are pending. ==Past chairpersons==