OMB Pedometers Budget Health

To kick off the fiscal year, the Office of Management and Budget on Thursday is prodding its employees to become fiscally fit inside and out. All OMB staffers were given the option of receiving a pedometer for recording their physical activity online and virtually racing with their colleagues. The top pacer each month earns a free lunch with OMB Director Peter Orszag -- and the most athletic OMB division receives a healthy happy hour.

Officials note the effort is part of the administration's larger effort to reduce healthcare costs within the federal workforce. As OMB personnel pick up the pace in preparation for the fiscal 2011 budget-writing season, they will be expecting the same from their peers. All federal agencies this year are supposed report their efforts to improve wellness in the workplace, as part of their annual budget submissions.

OMB officials pointed to an Australian study that found pedometers were one of the two most cost-effective tools for upping physical activity because of their motivational power. The other method being promotional campaigns.

Employees who opt into the fitness plan will log on to an internal Web site to enter their daily steps, compare their strides with those of OMB Director Peter Orszag and monitor their divisions' average workouts. Staff also can be tested to find out their body mass index, blood pressure and resting heart rate -- and monitor changes in their health stats over the next few months online.

Orszag has vowed to publish his own walk count on the internal site and says he'll be watching to see who on staff is beating him.