Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H, FACS
United States Surgeon General
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Meeting (For more information about the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, please see www.fitness.gov)

Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Washington, D.C.

"Visit with President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports"

Good afternoon. I want to thank Melissa for asking me to join you today. (Melissa Johnson, Executive Director of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports)

Melissa and I have had the opportunity to collaborate on several initiatives, and now I want to invite all of you to work with us on three ongoing initiatives.

First, though, Mr. Chairman (Lynn Swann, Chair of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports), I want thank you and your fellow Council members for all you're doing to improve the health of Americans. We appreciate all you're doing.

When President Bush and Secretary Thompson nominated me to be Surgeon General, they asked me to focus on three priorities. They are: Prevention, Public Health Preparedness, and Eliminating Health Care Disparities.

Woven through each of these is health literacy, which is the currency of all I'm doing as Surgeon General.

50 Schools in 50 States
For example, I am visiting schools across America in my "50 Schools in 50 States" initiative to talk with kids about avoiding drugs, alcohol, and tobacco; being physically active; and eating healthy foods.

As of last week, I've visited 20 schools across America. In January, Melissa joined me at Maclay Middle School in Pacoima, California. We had a lot of fun with the kids.

We also visited the Whittier Boys and Girls Club with your fellow Counsel member Nomar Garciaparra. That Whittier Club was Nomar's boyhood club, so it was like a homecoming for him. Melissa and I did a lot of push-ups with the kids.

I think Nomar was teaching the kids that there is a good ballplayer on the President's Counsel whose name doesn't happen to be "Dot."

The visits give us a great opportunity to talk with the kids about the importance of physical activity and the President's Council activities and programs.

I would like to invite each of you to join me at a school in your home state. Melissa and her team can work with my team to make that happen.

Shaping America's Youth
I also want to ask you to join me in working on the issue of preventing and reducing childhood obesity through another program - Shaping America's Youth.

The program is a great example of a public-private partnership that's working.

In just 10 months, these powerhouse partners - HHS, Nike, Johnson & Johnson, Campbell's Soup, and the American Academy of Pediatrics - have developed a searchable database with information from over 1,000 organizations, government agencies, and corporations that have programs to address the problem of childhood obesity.

The next step is a series of interactive Town Halls across America to bring together everyone who is working on the issue of childhood obesity, so that we can all do a better job of sharing best practices and determining next steps.

The first SAY Town Hall will be in Memphis, Tennessee, in early 2005.

I invite you to become part of the SAY team that's working across all sectors to address the epidemic of childhood obesity. It's an important effort.

Again, you can talk with Melissa about it, and she and her team will work with my team to provide you with information and help you become as involved as you want to be.

Surgeon General's Report on Bone Health and Osteoporosis
Finally, when you are out representing the Council, I would appreciate you helping us spread the public health messages in the first-ever Surgeon General's Report on Bone Health and Osteoporosis.

The most important finding in this new Report that I issued last week is that you are never too old or too young to improve your bone health.

Osteoporosis isn't just your grandmother's disease. It starts in childhood, but is preventable and reversible at every age.

Bone health is important because we now know that by 2020, half of all American citizens over age 50 will be at risk for fractures from osteoporosis and low bone mass if no immediate action is taken by individuals at risk, health care professionals, health systems, and policymakers.

10 million Americans over the age of 50 have osteoporosis, the most common bone disease. Another 34 million are at risk for developing osteoporosis.

Each year, approximately 1.5 million people suffer a bone fracture related to osteoporosis.

The good news is that this is all preventable. That's why the three recommendations of this report are all about prevention:

• The first recommendation is related to nutrition. We must all get the recommended amounts of calcium and vitamin D.
• Second - and you'll like this recommendation a lot - we must all maintain a healthy weight and be physically active. That means at least 30 minutes a day for adults and at least 60 minutes a day for children, including weight-bearing activities to improve strength and balance.
• Third, everyone must take steps to minimize the risk of falls by removing items that might cause tripping get regular exercise to improve balance and coordination.

These recommendations are highlighted in our People's Piece, a magazine-style; full-color booklet. This People's Piece has been designed to improve the health literacy of Americans by providing the best scientific information available in a way that everyone can understand and use to live longer, healthier lives. It's free online at www.surgeongeneral.gov and by calling 1-866-718-BONE.

We also distributed a People's Piece with the Report I issued in May updating the findings about Smoking.

As you can tell by now, I'm passionate about improving Americans' health literacy. And I'm here to ask for your help.

Together, we need to close the gap between what health professionals, athletes, coaches, P.E. teachers, nutritionists, and fitness consultants know about health eating and physical activity, and what most Americans understand.

Right now we have a tremendous lack of understanding. Until the public is educated as to what a gram of fat is; how to read a food label; and what physical fitness ultimately is all about, we'll continue to have problems. The good news is that most Americans can learn these things, and live longer, better, healthier lives.

Again, I would like to thank you for all the work you are doing. You are powerful role models and leaders. Keep up the good work.

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Last revised: January 9, 2007