Surveys about DeChambeau position on the presidential council and what he is doing with it haven't been made yet so we thought it would be a great idea to go out and talk to the people and see what they think about the Presidential Fitness Test coming back. Going into the survey, I was hoping to do a little research into other surveys out there and see how there results compare to ours. Before we get to the results of the survey, let me show you the questions and what we are expecting and hoping to get out of them.
The first question we are asking is simple: Are you aware of pro golfer Bryson DeChambeau’s role in the Presidential Council? The Presidential Council was established relatively recently and re-established on July 31, 2025. So, people are still finding out about it and we just wanted to know if they were going in with any prior knowledge of this topic.
The next question we get into the controversial piece of it all: Are you in support of the Presidential Fitness Test coming back? The Presidential Fitness Test used to be a big deal back in the day. If you passed the test, you would get a signed letter from the President of the United States saying, “Congrats you did it.” Then, it was taken away and they say that obesity in the U.S. went up by a significant amount. DeChambeau said that children's obesity is going up in America and bringing back the fitness test will help lower children's obesity by a significant amount.. It is controversial because some people think that genetics plays a huge role in how you grow up. Another reason people think it is controversial is because people feel like it is a one-size-fits-all approach. They feel that it could cause body image issues and kids might be embarrassed if they don't get as great of a score as their friends.
The next question is: Do you think the test is morally right or wrong? People should be able to say whether they think what is going on with the Presidential Fitness Test is right or wrong and why they should keep it or get rid of it entirely once and for all.
After that is our hard hitting question: Do you think there will be a drastic change in children' s health because of this? This is the question we think will have the most controversy. Some people think that exercise is the only way for kids to get healthy and that is the best way for people that are overweight to get healthy. Then, there are people on the other side of the spectrum who think that exercise isn't the only way people can get healthy. One of which is limiting phone time. According to “Mayo Clinic Health System,” setting down your phone will “Improve your physical health.” So, we think there is going to be split results in the survey.
The last question we thought we would ask is: Should athletes have power in government? The reason we put this question on there is because we know athletes are allowed to run for office, but we think that when an athlete is actively playing a sport, it isn't a good idea to be in a government office at the same time. This is due to the fact that the athlete won't be as focused on their governmental duties as much as they should be.
The results of the survey were very interesting. Here are a couple of things that stood out. The big thing we noticed is that almost nobody even knew that Bryson DeChambeau was in a government position in general. This was interesting because when the news broke about The President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, it was all over the internet and there were multiple interviews about it right after. Everyone involved was posting about it and how exciting it is and how much of a pleasure it is to be a part of. Then, there were also people that declined the offer to be a part of it, and they also made sure to mention the pros and cons of the position and why they declined it.
With that being said, a majority of the people that answered the survey said they are in favor of the Presidential Fitness Test coming back. As we get to later in the results, they know that bringing this back will not be the factor that is required to maintain a healthy lifestyle for a child. The people think that this will get more people engaged in exercise and might get them to grow a newfound respect for working out. They believe the earlier people get their kids involved in sports and physical exercise, the more likely they will stick to it later on in their lives.
People are torn if the Presidential Fitness Test is morally right or wrong. This answer was split down the middle but one stood out to us the most. One person answered this “I don't particularly think it is morally incorrect. I just think gym class in school is supposed to show kids the joy of physical activity, not force them to complete a series of difficult workouts they didn’t sign up for.” When kids are in the gym, they are wanting to play sports or tag or other creative ways to get exercise. That is exactly what this person is saying. Kids don’t care how many pushups, sit-ups, and laps they can do across the gym floor, they want to have fun with their friends and be competitive. Also, some kids won’t even try because they know they aren’t going to get first in their class.
This is where the controversy begins because the question was split directly down the middle. The people who said there would be a drastic change in health believe that if kids are growing up working out, they will be able to find a healthier lifestyle earlier in life and will be able to maintain it while they are growing up. People think that the earlier you work out, the more interested you will be doing workouts later on down the line. On the other side of that, the people that said there will not be a drastic change in kids' health are saying there are other factors besides exercise to stay healthy. Some of the key things people brought up were diet and geographical location (do they have access to workout facilities in the area?).
The final question people almost answered the exact same way. People think if athletes are properly educated in the role of government they should be able to have power. Most people ended up saying yes to this question but added on some wrinkles and restrictions to their power. One said, “Yes, but not power over others.” This is interesting to me because they are saying athletes should be able to be in office but then you're almost taking the entire role of being in government out of it by not letting them have power over people. Then for the people that said no, they think that it would be a bad idea because they will have sway over certain groups making it easier for them to get a vote to go a certain way. This is exactly why we asked a question like this because people are easily influenced by celebrities and will follow the influence of them just because they are famous in their fields.
In conclusion, I think the survey helped us learn a lot more about what the general public thought about DeChambeau’s political role. Even though most people have never heard about the Presidential Fitness Council, they still have very strong opinions on the subject and those deserve to be heard as well. This survey helped us learn about what others thought about the subject, not just our own opinions and beliefs on the subject and that is why I found the survey to be so beneficial not only for us the people writing the article but to all of you that are also reading it.