President George W Bush has launched a national campaign, HealthierUS Initiative, to encourage US consumers to increase and improve their physical activity as part of achieving a better and longer life.
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He also called on the public to eat at least five servings a day of fruits and vegetables a day as part of making healthy food choices, and specifically called for enhancing the “National 5 A Day for Better Health Programme” with a more coordinated effort between the USDA, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute.
In urging US citizens to up their fruit intake, the President admitted he still has some work to do in his family: “We’ve been working on old number 41 [his father former President Bush] to eat broccoli for all these years.”
Elizabeth Pivonka, president of the Produce for Better Health Foundation, welcomed the new campaign: “We’re ecstatic that President Bush has personally added his voice to the call for 5 A Day.”
Meanwhile the National Restaurant Association (NRA) also praised the initiative for its emphasis on the importance of individual responsibility for health. President and CEO Steven C. Anderson said: “We applaud President Bush for […] his remarks, which emphasised the importance of personal responsibility in ensuring better health. The nation’s 858,000 restaurant-and-foodservice outlets are dedicated and proactively committed to continuing our efforts that parallel the HealthierUS Initiative.”
To kick off the new health initiative, President Bush hosted a White House Fitness Expo on the South Lawn, with exhibits, games, and health testing offered by various federal agencies, including the USDA and Department of Health and Human Services.
