Dr. Kenneth Cooper. Photo by Can Türkyilmaz
It’s been nearly 50 years since Dr. Kenneth Cooper coined the term “aerobics.”
At 86, the fitness expert is still relentless in his efforts to promote healthy living and reduce obesity. The Cooper Institute, a Preston Hollow establishment founded in 1970, helped propel aerobics to the forefront of fitness discussions. That year, the Brazilian soccer team won the world cup after training with his exercise program. The Chinese government has consulted with Cooper for years to tweak their schools’ fitness programs.
That’s not Cooper’s only endeavor in the country, though. He recently launched the Cooper Aerobics Health and Wellness Center, located on 40 acres of a national forest in Nanjing, China, the Dallas Morning News reports.
“We’re trying to methodically work out how to improve the health of 1.37 billion people,” Cooper told the DMN. “That’s a major, major undertaking. But it could be the greatest thing we’ve ever achieved.”
The site features a conference center, fitness center and training and education facility. Its focus is teaching Chinese physicians about preventative medicine, developing corporate wellness programs and training personal trainers and physical education teachers on how best to promote exercise.
“Prevalence of chronic disease in China has risen ninefold in one generation, far faster than the rest of the world,” Cooper said to the DMN. “You think of the Chinese as being lean and trim, and all that. Not so.”
