East of the Rockies he may be Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt, but in Utah he's still Governor Mike. While in Washington, D.C., Utah's former chief executive has been working hard to help improve the health and well-being of the nation's citizens. He's apparently a firm believer in the Victorian ideal of sound minds in sound bodies.

Always a policy wonk, Leavitt recently released guidelines for physical activity and health that he had cobbled together with a 13-member advisory panel he appointed in 2007. The suggestions are more modest than other proposals. Leavitt's group asks for merely 2.5 hours of "moderate" activity a week. That's about 20 minutes a day. They'd also like to see children get an extra hour a week.

"The more physically active you are, the more health benefits you gain," Leavitt said. He says his notions should serve as a road map to good physical health.

The full set of guidelines can be found at health.gov/paguidelines. We offer a Readers' Digest version:

• Children and adolescents need muscle-strengthening and bone-strengthening activities such as running and jumping rope.

• Adults, too, need to worry about their muscle texture and should try to include things like lifting weights, carrying loads or heavy-duty gardening in their activities.

• Aging adults don't get a pass. They should follow the same regimen as younger adults if they can.

• Pregnant women (with consultation with a doctor) don't get a pass, either. They should keep up with the others.

The sloppy approach Americans take to health and exercise has been the target of late-night comics for years. In modern society, convenience almost always seems to trump common sense. The hope is that will change.

As for Secretary Leavitt, we're pleased he's bringing his well-known policy skills to bear on helping Americans at least take some tentative steps toward living better. If people will take his advice, it will pay off in a higher quality of life and lower medical bills.

Now, while he's at the blackboard, perhaps the secretary can also concoct a program that will give the nation's citizens the willpower required to actually follow through on his excellent and timely recommendations.