Physical Fitness and Public Administration: Exercise Is the Best Policy!

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By Andrew R. Vaz
May 24, 2024

One topic concerning working as public administrators that is seldom discussed is exercise. Ask yourself, when was the last time your department or agency pushed an effective exercise program? It is a good question to ask, to be honest. I am no personal trainer; however, I did have the chance to work with one. I did have the chance to enter an exercise program where I put on muscle and lost weight. I have worked in government for almost 15 years, and I must say that I never felt better. This experience made me curious to find out whether all public sector workers have an exercise system that they can access for themselves. I wasn’t surprised to find that many agencies do not have such exercise programs available.

Why did I choose to exercise? Between my studies and working full time, I wasn’t going to the gym as much as I would have liked. I started breathing heavier and my friends and family members started to notice. When I finally managed to find the nearest gym in my hometown, I actually passed out one day while working out with the gym’s trainer. Everything had gone black—I knew I fell backward but I couldn’t recall anything after that. I could have fallen on a dumbbell or something sharp. When I came to, I found the trainer and other gym attendees helping me up the stairs. One person gave me orange juice while another had called the ambulance. If this doesn’t tell you that I was out of shape, I’m not sure what will. Keep in mind, I was working 10-hour days and completing a PhD program on top of that (I will be graduating in July).

All of that is behind me and I am grateful to be alive and working on my health. So many others unfortunately do not have the same chance. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), 8.3 percent of deaths are attributed to inadequate levels of physical activity. What makes this most heartbreaking is the fact that these deaths were preventable. The CDC recommends that increasing adults’ physical activity levels to meet current guidelines is likely one way to reduce the risk of premature death in the United States.

That’s why I believe all public sector workers should have access to a fitness program—whether it be a program that the agency administers or a program that workers can use outside of work hours of their choice.

Now, as I stated earlier, not all agencies offer a fitness program for their workers. I think the best example of an agency-wide program devoted to exercise and fitness is U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)’s agency-wide Physical Fitness Program (AWPFP), formerly called the PT-FIT program. The Agency-Wide Physical Fitness Program (AWPFP) is available to all CBP employees and supports participation in approved physical activity during duty hours with supervisor approval. This program directly supports CBP’s commitment to creating a healthy workforce where physical fitness is embraced as a critical element of mission readiness and personal resilience. 

The U.S. government is no stranger to tackling the issue of fitness and wellness. Going all the way back to Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy, the Federal government tried to aggressively help Americans by developing fitness programs, with varying results. President Eisenhower established the President’s Council on Youth Fitness with Executive Order 10673, issued on July 16, 1956. Despite widespread support inside and outside the government, the council never quite found its way during the Eisenhower years. With President Kennedy, he approached the nation with a direct appeal. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy requested that all Americans participate in sports and other forms of physical exercise. If you think about it, President Kennedy had every reason to demand that each citizen exercise regularly: he played sports in college, and he was the youngest person ever elected to the White House at the age of 43. Of course, fitness had to have been a priority for Kennedy.

I say all of this to highlight the opportunity to explore fitness programs that can benefit all of us in the long term. Take it from my own experience—I am glad that I was able to make the changes necessary to continue to live a healthy life. Hopefully, it will also be a long one.

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Author: Andrew R. Vaz, Ph.D. is a graduate of the Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration program at Walden University, specializing in Public Management and Leadership. He was already awarded a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree in the program. He is also a graduate of the Master of Science in Criminal Justice (MSCJ) and Master of Public Administration (MPA) double master’s program at Florida International University. He can be reached at [email protected]. 

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