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N.M. Lawmakers Walk the Walk for Fitness

Posted on: Monday, 14 February 2005, 12:00 CST

SANTA FE - New Mexico health officials are trying to keep lawmakers not just on their toes, but on their feet.

Pink plastic pedometers have been distributed throughout the Capitol for a six-week contest to see who can log the most steps.

The three-way battle pits the state Senate against the state House of Representatives against the governor and his cabinet.

"Don't we want legislators to be sitting and passing our bills?" Gov. Bill Richardson joked as he was handed his pedometer at a news conference last week.

Health officials say lawmakers, along with everybody else, spend too much time on their duffs.

"Over 50 percent of New Mexicans are either obese or overweight," said Kristine Olson Suozzi, director of the Public Health Division of the state Department of Health, which is sponsoring the contest along with the American Heart Association.

"This is the leadership of the state. It has to role model what we ought to be doing - and we ought not to be sitting all day long," Suozzi said.

The winner will be calculated by dividing the number of steps taken by each group by the number of participants. The group with the highest average wins a garish, gold-and-red trophy.

Outside the Senate chamber, Finance Chairman Joseph Fidel reached under his sport coat,unclipped the pedometer from his leather belt, and checked progress.

"I just started this morning," said the veteran of 32 years in the Senate. The tally: 1,158 steps, and the day had barely begun.

"If I get a break, I go out in the garage and walk," said the Grants Democrat, who had triple bypass surgery three years ago.

The four-story Capitol provides plenty of opportunity to move around. But it's a mine field of snack platters, and the elevators can be a tempting alternative to the stairs.

"I thought I was a little more active than the pedometer has shown, so I've got to get to work on it," said Sen. Dianna Duran, a Republican from Tularosa who was disappointed in her early results.

"We do too much sitting," Duran said, wondering aloud whether the 42 members might somehow circle the Senate chamber constantly during the proceedings - evoking the image of schools of silvery anchovies in an aquarium tank.

Rep. Danice Picraux, an Albuquerque Democrat, said she is toting about 3,000 steps at the Capitol and another 2,500 when she gets home and walks the dog.

"If I ran up and down the stairs instead of sitting in (House) Appropriations five days a week, I'd be up above that," Picraux added.

Suozzi recommends participants increase their number of steps by a few hundred each day, with a goal of 10,000 - about five miles.

The man in charge of health services in New Mexico's round Capitol building during the 60-day session says walking also can help lawmakers, lobbyists, staffers and visitors fend off the germs they swap with each handshake.

"This is the epicenter of stress, and the round building functions as a petri dish. We bring germs in from every city everyday, and then ... we share our germs with everybody," said paramedic Don Mason. "Just simple exercise helps the body function better, including strengthening the immune system."

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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