Dr. Steve Blair of the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health has been named a recipient of the 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award from the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition (PCFSN).

Dr. Blair will receive the award September 16 in Washington, DC, at the PCFSN’s annual meeting. Presented annually since 2007, the Lifetime Achievement Award is given to individuals whose careers have greatly contributed to the advancement or promotion of physical activity, fitness, sports, and nutrition-related programs nationwide. Recipients are selected by members of PCFSN based on the span and scope of an individual’s career, the estimated number of lives they have touched, and the impact of their legacy.

With more than 650 papers in the scientific literature, Dr. Blair has extensively examined the association of cardiorespiratory fitness and various health outcomes. This research shows that low fitness is one of the strongest predictors of mortality and numerous chronic diseases and likely causes more deaths in many populations than smoking, obesity, or other risk factors.