Health Benefits - proposed $1,000 tax credit to reward people who make an effort to stay physically fit

You're a person who maintains a healthy level of fitness. Your body mass index is in the normal range, your blood pressure is below 200, your cholesterol is in the safe range and you don't smoke. So how happy would you be if the federal government rewarded your efforts with an annual $1,000 tax credit?

If named the nation's next surgeon general, Kenneth Cooper will push for just that. Cooper also plans to urge tax benefits for corporations that establish employee-wellness programs. He says a program that allows employees to get away from their workstations, to exercise, would reduce health care costs, reduce absenteeism due to illness, make employees more productive and attract the best job applicants.

Cooper, who heads the Cooper Institute in Dallas, Texas, has been the personal physician of the President and Mrs. Bush for 12 years. He is credited with coining the word "aerobics" when he created it for a chapter in his first book in 1966. The publisher liked the word so much, he changed the book title to Aerobics. In his book, Cooper extolled the benefits of jogging and a fitness movement was born.

Cooper proclaims that by living a healthy lifestyle--including regular exercise and avoiding cigarettes and alcohol--people can improve their health and maintain independence into their 70s, 80s and 90s. He is a walking advertisement for his program's effectiveness. He speaks with great energy and looks at least a decade younger than he actually is. On his 70th birthday, he spent six hours downhill skiing. So, even if you don't get that $1,000 rebate, you'll still reap the benefits.