With more than 70% of Americans now classified as overweight or obese, the nation faces a significant public health crisis. This trend, which is moving in the wrong direction, contributes to a wide range of preventable health problems and associated costs. While combating obesity should be a unifying national goal, a growing rhetoric now seeks to politicize health and fitness.
This partisan divide was highlighted on July 31, 2025, when President Donald Trump signed an executive order reinstating the Presidential Fitness Test in public schools. The test, a staple for decades, was replaced during the 2012-13 school year under the Obama administration. The new executive order states, “We must address the threat to the vitality and longevity of our country that is posed by America’s declining health and physical fitness. For far too long, the physical and mental health of the American people has been neglected.”
The focus on youth fitness addresses a critical issue. According to a 2024 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, childhood obesity has climbed to approximately 20%, a sharp increase from 5% in the 1970s. This decline in physical fitness is not only a health concern but also a matter of national security. The CDC report found that only two in five young adults are weight-eligible and active enough to serve in the military. Retired Army Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling noted in the report, “The military has experienced increasing difficulty in recruiting soldiers as a result of physical inactivity, obesity, and malnutrition among our nation’s youth.”
Despite these concerns, Trump’s initiative was met with criticism. MSNBC described it as reviving an “outdated and problematic practice,” while The New York Times opined that “generations of Americans who struggled to complete a pull-up in front of their classmates winced” at the news.
This political lens extends beyond school policy to broader fitness culture. Some progressive voices now view physical fitness with suspicion, linking it to right-wing ideologies. One viral video from a fitness influencer connected the popularization of certain exercises to “the rise of extreme American authoritarianism.” Similarly, a 2024 column in The Guardian warned, “There is a dark side to wellness… getting fit makes you more rightwing.”
Even tanning has been framed as an ideological statement, with The Atlantic observing, “Tanning is back. Only this time, it’s not just about looking good—it’s about embracing an entire ideology,” tying the trend to President Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Likewise, men’s fitness has been associated with “toxic masculinity” and the “manosphere,” with actor Sacha Baron Cohen’s muscular physique for a magazine cover drawing criticism that it was “repellent to most women.”
This effort to associate fitness with a political agenda overlooks the reality that most people who exercise and spend time outdoors do so for their health and enjoyment, not as a political declaration. By attempting to demonize physical fitness in opposition to a political figure, critics risk undermining a crucial public health imperative and harming the well-being of future generations.
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