In my practice of medicine for nearly 70 years, I have never received a more impressive gift than being the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from Beyond Activ Americas on October 2, 2025, in Dallas, Texas.

I was not only impressed with the number of people who attended the event that evening but what I learned about the great operation at Beyond Activ corporation around the world. What a pleasure it was to hear from numerous attendees who had studied my research for years!

Experiencing the benefits of exercise and wellness personally inspired me to practice preventive medicine and establish Cooper Aerobics Center including The Cooper Institute, Cooper Clinic, Cooper Fitness Center, Cooper Hotel, Cooper Spa, Cooper Complete Nutritional Supplements and Cooper Wellness Strategies. Originally only a two-room office in 1970, now our 30-acre center has nearly 550 employees and 31 full-time physicians representing 8 subspecialties. My goal from the start was dedicated to the practice of preventive medicine even though I was told if I limited my practice of medicine to taking care of healthy people, I would be unsuccessful financially.

Over the years I have given credit for our unbelievable success as follows: (1) divine intervention which has helped me make the right decisions over the years; (2) an outstanding staff – I always say that any organization will be just as successful as the staff makes them; (3) we have proven without question that it is cheaper and more effective to prevent disease than to find a cure; and (4) if people realize they have a need and you provide a service and they get the results they want, they will make you successful in any field.

Indicative of that success, we have a database of more than 150,000 patients, with a 74% return rate for examinations, and 300,000-plus maximal performance treadmill stress tests, the largest in the world. Today, the database exceeds 2-million-person years of follow-up on those patients from which our research institute has published 700-plus papers in peer-reviewed journals. I think it is safe to say we have now bridged the gap between faddism and scientific legitimacy using exercise in the practice of medicine.

The Cooper Institute has proven:

• Being more fit is associated with lower cardiovascular disease
• Increasing fitness decreases the risk of dying from all causes by 58%
• Higher fitness levels significantly lower the risk of dementia later in life
• Continued importance of fitness as a means to reduce mortality risk in today’s era of medical advancements

In March 2022, the World Health Organization reported on inactivity. They claimed 500 million people worldwide were totally sedentary at a cost of at least $40 billion dollars per year and diseases could be eliminated by increasing physical activity.

Our studies indicate performing 30 minutes of aerobic activity (any type)—collective or sustained—most days of the week for a total of at least 150 minutes each week, is the minimum with which you can expect reduced health risks. It’s no wonder our patients at Cooper Clinic are living 10 years longer than the national average.

My goal for the world to is Get Cooperized™, which anyone can do by following my 8 Healthy Steps.

1. Exercise most days of the week
2. Make healthy food choices most of the time
3. Maintain a healthy weight
4. Take the right supplements for you
5. Manage stress and prioritize sleep
6. Do not use tobacco
7. Control alcohol
8. Get a regular, comprehensive physical exam

Visit getcooperized.com for more information.

The name of your organization, Beyond Activ, rings true with me because even though aerobic exercise is the foundation of any good preventive medicine program, it goes beyond fitness to include eating healthy, managing stress and prioritizing sleep, having an annual physical, etc. – sound familiar?

My hope and prayer for your outstanding organization, Beyond Activ, and its worldwide branches and franchises are to continue promoting the value of exercise and read my book, Grow Healthier As You Grow Older. It will not only help improve people’s personal health throughout the world but will change the way medicine is practiced in the future. If that occurs, as I mentioned earlier, because of divine intervention in my life, I will say, “To God be the glory!”

Kenneth H. Cooper, MD, MPH
Board Certified in Preventive Medicine
Founder & Chairman, Cooper Aerobics