I'd forgotten about the 50 yard dash, but I can remember the excitement at my grade school about the President's Council on Physical Fitness, championed by then President John F. Kennedy. To now have nutrition as part of the name is exciting and to have three SCAN members represented on the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition (PCFSN) science board is wonderful.
I'm not old enough to remember President Eisenhower's creation of the President's Council on Youth Fitness, but it was started to encourage American children to be as physically fit as their European counterparts. I do remember the first name change and the emphasis that was put on fitness by President Kennedy. He was a young president and seemed full of energy. And I'm pleased that in June 2010, President Obama's executive order added nutrition to the name. The order reads, in part, "...to recognize that good nutrition goes hand in hand with fitness and sports participation..."
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and former Olympian Dominique Dawes are the new co-chairs. What's exciting for SCAN is the addition of three of our members to the PCFSN Science Board:
- Linda Houtkooper, PhD, RD
- Melinda Manore, PhD, RD, CSSD
- Stella Volpe, PhD, RD, LDN
Marie Dunford, PhD, RD
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