Biography of Kenneth Cooper

Born in Oklahoma City on March 4, 1931, Ken Cooper was the son of a dentist father, and a mother who always cheered him on at track meets and other athletic competitions. Choosing medicine over missionary work, his other calling, he received a B.S. degree in 1952 from University of Oklahoma and an M.D. degree in 1956 from University of Oklahoma School of Medicine. His master of public health degree was earned from Harvard School of Public Health in 1962 while still an Air Force flight surgeon stationed in Texas.

During his 13 years of military service, Dr. Cooper served as director of the Aerospace Medical Laboratory in San Antonio and worked with the National Aeronautics Space Administration in conditioning America's astronauts for space. He developed the 12-minute fitness test and the Aerobics Point System, which today are used by the Army, Navy, Secret Service, several foreign military organizations, many U.S. and foreign corporations, and more than 2,500 universities and public schools. In 1966 he received certification from the American Board of Preventive Medicine, an indication of the direction he was headed. Two years after the publication of Aerobics (Bantam, 1968) Lieutenant Colonel Cooper resigned from the U.S. Air Force to explore the relationship between exercise and health and longevity full time.

By 1970 Dr. Cooper's dream was becoming a reality with the launch of The Cooper Aerobics Center. The early clinic and research institute were housed in a two-story Colonial style mansion, surrounded by 13 acres of landscaped lawns and open space for the anticipated expansion. A gymnasium and exercise facilities were added a year later, and in 1979 the medical and research units moved next door into the newly constructed Cooper Clinic, reestablishing the original building as an activity center. With more than 2,000 members by 1981, the Aerobics Activity Center (now Cooper Fitness Center) flourished. The 1980s proved to be a time of significant growth with the construction of The Guest Lodge hotel for travelers and the acquisition of an adjacent building, which was renovated to house the nonprofit Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research (now The Cooper Institute). Dr. Cooper next developed an intensive live-in program, Cooper Wellness Program, offering participants four-, six-, or 13-day sessions for total wellness assessment and lifestyle modification. The 1990s brought additional development, spreading Dr. Cooper's wellness goals across the 30-acre campus with the creation of The Spa and, ultimately, across the world, with the inception of Cooper Ventures consulting services. Bringing the Cooper message into the new millennium, Cooper Concepts, developer of Cooper Complete nutritional supplements, launched "Healthy Living with Dr. Ken Cooper," a nationally syndicated radio show. Just a few years later, The Cooper Institute also expanded to encompass a research facility in Denver, Colo.

Stretching his international reach, Dr. Cooper has lectured in over 50 countries and authored 18 books, which have been translated in 41 languages and Braille and total more than 30 million copies sold. In Brazil, running is called coopering or doing the cooper, and the cooperteszt is the national fitness test in Hungary.

From the time of his first book in 1968, Dr. Cooper has advocated revolutionizing the field of medicine away from disease treatment to disease prevention through aerobic exercise. 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. Still receiving dozens of citations every year is The Cooper Institute's 1989 landmark study, published in the renowned Journal of the American Medical Association, showing the relationship between fitness and mortality in some 13,000 patients.

Recognized for more than three decades as the leader of the international physical fitness movement, Dr. Cooper is credited with motivating more people to exercise in pursuit of good health than any other person. At The Cooper Aerobics Center, as president and CEO, Dr. Cooper is supported by a 400-person staff in carrying out his mission to educate and encourage optimum health in as many segments of the population as possible. Dr. Cooper sets an example for maintaining a healthy lifestyle by exercising at the Center on a regular basis, and his wife Millie, daughter Berkley, and son Tyler may also be seen coopering.