Dallas’ Cooper Institute has long been revered internationally. You have to look no further than the fact that jogging in Brazil is known as “Cooper” to prove that statement.
Now the 43-year-old Dallas health landmark is expanding its reach even further. On Monday, the institute signed an agreement with Hungary to bring its fitness assessment tool, Fitnessgram, to the European nation, a move supported financially by the country and the European Union.
“I think you’re about to change the world in Hungary, and I don’t think that’s a small thing,” said Cooper Institute CEO Blaine Nelson during an announcement ceremony, in one of his first official duties as CEO. Nelson started his new position Monday.
Developed in 1982, FitnessGram was designed to increase parental awareness of their children’s fitness levels by developing an easy way for physical education teachers to report the results of physical fitness assessments. The system is now used by 68,000 schools across the United States, said program director Catherin Vowell, and federally by the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. In 2012, the council phased out its Youth Fitness Test—which dated back to 1966—and replaced it with the Presidential Youth Fitness Program. That program included Fitnessgram as an assessment tool.
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Unlike the Youth Fitness Test, Fitnessgram helps minimize comparisons between children and instead supports students as they pursue personal fitness goals. It assesses cardiovascular fitness, body composition, muscle strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility.
In Hungary, Cooper officials will build a customized interface for the test, to help combat the country’s growing childhood obesity rate. The program is expected to reach 1.3 million children, and the 2.7 million parents and teachers of those children.
And Hungary may just be the first step in the process. During the brief ceremony, officials discussed conversations with Korean officials to bring Fitnessgram—known as the Cooper International Youth Fitness Test abroad—to Asia, and other conversations have begun in Africa and additional European countries.
“I am honored that this research program will be implemented with the help of these international experts who are working tirelessly to encourage lifelong physical activity,” Hungarian School Sport Federation president Gábor Balogh said in a statement.
Cooper officials—along with longtime fitness and education supporter and financial backer Ross Perot—were joined by Hungarian officials during the announcement. The four-person party from the Eastern European country took in the Dallas Cowboys game Sunday, and joked that their presence was the reason for the win.
“Hopefully the luck we brought to the Cowboys match yesterday can be brought to the Cooper Institute as well,” said managing director Balàzs Ràdics, through a translator.
Date: September 10, 2013