Carl Edwards Named to Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition

CONCORD, June 24, 2010: Roush Fenway Racing’s Carl Edwards has been named to President Obama’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. Edwards, along with the other members of the council, was introduced yesterday by First Lady Michelle Obama at an announcement in Washington D.C.

"It's a group that I'm honored to be a part of,” said Edwards. “I look forward to working with the Council, the President and First Lady to help kids better understand the importance and the fun of being fit and eating well."

In conjunction with the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative, this year President Obama has broadened the scope of the Council, formerly known as the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, to include a focus on healthy eating as well as active lifestyles. On Monday, the President signed an Executive Order outlining the Council’s new emphasis on both good nutrition and physical fitness.

“This year we’re expanding the work of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition to include not just a focus on active lifestyles, but on healthy eating, too,” Mrs. Obama said. “The Council will play an important role in our effort to help combat childhood obesity in this country and I am grateful to the athletes, chefs, doctors and nutrition experts who are volunteering their time on the Council to help make a difference.”

The President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition is a committee of volunteer citizens who advise the President through the Secretary of Health and Human Services about opportunities to develop accessible, affordable and sustainable physical activity, fitness, sports and nutrition programs for all Americans regardless of age, background or ability. The Council’s mission is to engage, educate and empower all Americans to adopt a healthy lifestyle that includes regular physical activity and good nutrition. For more information about the Council and its members, visit www.fitness.gov.

The Council will be co-chaired by Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees and three-time Olympian and former U.S. national women’s gymnastics champion Dominique Dawes, and will be made up of Edwards, Dan Barber, Tedy Bruschi, Allyson Felix, Michelle Kwan, Curtis Pride, Donna Richardson Joyner, Dr. Ian Smith, Cornell McClellan, Grant Hill, Billie Jean King, Chris Paul and Dr. Stephen McDonough.