Kenneth
H.
Cooper, M.D., M.P.H.
Back to Biographies
Founder and Chairman
Cooper Aerobics Center
When Kenneth Hardy Cooper, M.D., M.P.H., published his first bestseller, Aerobics, in 1968, he introduced a new word and a new concept to America that launched a worldwide fitness revolution. Dr. Cooper is recognized as the leader of the international physical fitness movement and credited with motivating more people to exercise in pursuit of good health than any other person. In 1968, only 100,000 people were jogging in America. That number is now more than 30 million strong, thanks in large part to the work and influence of Dr. Cooper.
Born March 4, 1931, Ken and his three siblings were raised in a small town outside of Oklahoma City. His father was a successful periodontist who instilled in Ken the idea and desire to practice preventive medicine and proper supplementation. His mother was a part-time school teacher and his biggest fan cheering him on at every track meet and basketball game. Ken was smart and athletic. He was also a dreamer.
Ken yearned to become an astronaut. He went to the University of Oklahoma for his undergraduate and medical degrees. Then the young Dr. Cooper entered the military in 1957—first the Army then a transfer to the Air Force. Since his mind for research and learning was not quite finished, he went to Harvard University to earn a Master of Public Health. Dr. Cooper was assigned to work with National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) to help astronauts get into peak performance prior to launch and during space expeditions.
During his 13 years, Dr. Cooper served as a flight surgeon and director of the Aerospace Medical Laboratory in San Antonio. He also developed the 12-minute and 1.5-mile fitness tests and the Aerobics Point System, all used today by military organizations, amateur and professional athletic teams, law enforcement agencies, and many public schools and universities all over the world.
But during his journey to discovering how exercise impacts the body and how much exercise the body actually needs, he discovered something else. He could do much more good on planet Earth than in space.
Dr. Cooper’s work in the military 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 becoming inactive due to the stress of medical school. That first-hand experience catapulted the young doctor to lose weight and run his first marathon, the Boston Marathon, a year later.
Dr. Cooper put everything he learned, researched and experienced firsthand into Aerobics. And the rest is, as they say, history. He knew he had started something big. Exercise had never been researched before. Exercising for good health had never been thought of before. Now it had.
Life was a whirlwind after the publication of Aerobics. Dr. Cooper resigned from the Air Force, and then he, his wife, Millie, pregnant with their son Tyler, and young daughter Berkley settled in Dallas.
In 1970 Dr. Cooper opened Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas. Nearly four decades later Dr. Cooper serves as founder and chairman of eight health and wellness companies, a nonprofit research and education institute, and has expanded his vision by adding a second Cooper Aerobics Center at Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas.
Dr. Cooper’s vision is shared by his son, Tyler Cooper, M.D., M.P.H., who is the CEO of Cooper Aerobics Enterprises, Inc., and preventive medicine physician at Cooper Clinic. A 650-person staff supports the Coopers’ mission to encourage optimal health.
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. In Brazil, running is called “coopering” or “doing the cooper.” In Hungary, the “cooperteszt” is the name of the national fitness test.
Dr. Cooper has authored 19 books, which have been translated into 41 languages and Braille and total more than 30 million copies sold. The Drs. Cooper released their first-ever book as a father/son team, Start Strong, Finish Strong, available at bookstores nationwide and online.
From the time of his first book, 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.
Dr. Cooper’s mark has also been felt on the American diet. His collaboration with PepsiCo and eliminating trans fats from its Frito-Lay snack line started an international wave that other companies are now following. On the back of Baked Lay’s packages, you’ll find this quote from Dr. Cooper, “Fitness is a journey, not a destination. It must be continued for the rest of your life.”
His recent work focuses on the health and fitness of the next generation—America’s youth—and fighting the childhood obesity problem. In Texas, Dr. Cooper was instrumental in getting physical education back in schools through the passage of a new law that requires enhanced PE activity levels and annual physical fitness testing. He created the Our Kids’ Health initiative to reverse the growing obesity epidemic in his home state and across the country.
Dr. Cooper is certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine, and he has received more than 75 awards and honors throughout his career.
At age 78 and having logged more than 38-thousand 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 and their daughter, Berkley, and son, Tyler, and their families—all “coopering” for health.
Back to Biographies