Dr. Kenneth Cooper

For more than 55 years, Dr. Kenneth Cooper, MD, MPH, has inspired millions to exercise for good health since the release of his first best-seller, Aerobics, in 1968.

Today Dr. Cooper is revolutionizing health and fitness again — calling on America and the world to Get Cooperized™. At age 94, he has released his 20th book, Grow Healthier as You Grow Older. As a leading pioneer of preventive medicine, Dr. Cooper challenges everyone to follow these 8 Healthy Steps to live better both sooner and later: exercise most days of the week; make healthy food choices most of the time; maintain a healthy weight; take the right supplements; get a regular, comprehensive physical exam; manage stress and prioritize sleep; stop smoking; and control alcohol.

Recognized as the leader of the international physical fitness movement and credited with motivating more people to exercise in pursuit of good health, Dr. Cooper has long advocated for moving the field of medicine away from disease treatment to disease prevention. The Cooper philosophy, “It is easier to maintain good health through proper exercise, diet and emotional balance than to regain it once it is lost,” has been proven valid in scientific research.

A grandfather of five, Dr. Cooper is passionately involved in the fight against childhood obesity. In Texas, Dr. Cooper was instrumental in getting physical education back in schools through the passage of Senate Bill 530 that requires enhanced PE activity levels and annual physical fitness testing using FitnessGram®. Since then, The Cooper Institute (now the Kenneth H. Cooper Institute at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center) has partnered with the NFL to bring FitnessGram to more than 30,000 schools nationwide with NFL PLAY60. Reaching across the globe, The Cooper Institute partnered with the Hungarian School Sport Federation to establish a national youth fitness assessment in Hungary. In 2015, the fitness test was administered to approximately 934,000 children in Hungary.

Stretching his international reach, Dr. Cooper has lectured in more than 50 countries. He is most famous in Brazil, having trained the 1970 Brazilian soccer team to a World Cup victory. As a result, jogging is translated as “coopering” in Portuguese. In Hungary, the “coopertest” is the name of the national fitness test. In China, Dr. Cooper attended the prestigious Boao Forum in 2013, where he served on a panel alongside the former prime minister of Australia and two Nobel Prize laureates in medicine. He had numerous interviews with CCTV and Phoenix Television, two widely watched stations in Asia, discussing the benefits of preventive medicine.

In addition to Aerobics, which has been translated into 41 languages and Braille, Dr. Cooper has authored 19 additional books, which combined have sold more than 30 million copies. His 20th book, Grow Healthier as You Grow Older, publishes June 2025. Dr. Cooper has also positively impacted the American diet. His collaboration with PepsiCo to eliminate trans fats from its Frito-Lay snack line started an international wave other companies followed.

During his 13 years of service in the U.S. Army (1957-1960) and U.S. Air Force (1960-1970), Dr. Cooper served as a flight surgeon and director of the Aerospace Medical Laboratory in San Antonio. He dreamed of becoming an astronaut and worked with the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) to help create the conditioning program preparing America’s astronauts for space and created an in-flight conditioning program used to keep astronauts active on-board spacecraft. He also developed the 12-minute and 1.5-mile fitness tests and the Aerobics Point System, still used today by military organizations, amateur and professional athletic teams, law enforcement agencies and public schools and universities worldwide.

In 1970, Dr. Cooper resigned from the military to explore the relationship between cardiovascular fitness and health and longevity. He founded Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas. He serves as Chairman and Founder of six health and wellness companies and Chairman Emeritus of the Kenneth H. Cooper Institute. Dr. Cooper’s mission is shared by his son, Tyler Cooper, MD, MPH, President and CEO of Cooper Aerobics, and a preventive medicine physician at Cooper Clinic, plus 500 teammates.

Dr. Cooper’s work with the Air Force and NASA launched his aerobics life work, but it was his own health crisis that made it personal. While water skiing at age 29, Dr. Cooper thought he was having a heart attack. At the hospital, his doctor told him he was simply out of shape, having gained 40 pounds and being inactive due to the stress of medical school. That firsthand experience catapulted the young doctor to lose weight and run his first marathon, the Boston Marathon, one year later.

Born March 4, 1931, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Dr. Cooper had the idea and desire to practice preventive medicine instilled in him by his father, a periodontist. Dr. Cooper received a Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine at The University of Oklahoma and a master’s from Harvard School of Public Health. He is certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine. At age 94 and having logged more than 38,000 miles running, Dr. Cooper sets an example for maintaining a healthy lifestyle by exercising at Cooper Aerobics Center on a regular basis, along with his wife, Millie, daughter, Berkley, son, Tyler, and their families — all to Get Cooperized.