Executive Order 13266: Activities To Promote Personal Fitness
President: George W. Bush
Directed eight departments and the Office of National Drug Control Policy to review fitness-related policies and report proposed actions within 90 days, and created an HHS-chaired interagency working group to coordinate physical activity, nutrition, screening and healthy-choice initiatives.
Status: In effect.
Is Executive Order 13266 still in effect? Yes. Active; no express revocation located; continuing federal wellness guidance cites the order.
What does Executive Order 13266 do?
The order assigned these duties: Nine named departments and offices — Review relevant policies, programs and regulations and identify modifications or new work; HHS Secretary — Receive agency reports, chair the working group and provide administrative support.
Verified the agency-review and 90-day reporting duties against the signed order. Current OPM rules permit limited fitness-related administrative leave, but that guidance does not cite EO 13266; no current record of the named working group was located, so implementation status remains qualified.
Before and after
Before the order
Federal fitness, nutrition, preventive-screening and substance-use programs operated across agencies without the ordered review and HHS-chaired coordinating group.
After the order
The order’s 90-day agency-reporting task was due in 2002. Current OPM rules permit limited fitness-related administrative leave subject to regulations and agency discretion, but the current guidance does not cite EO 13266; no present record of the named interagency working group was located.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| Nine named departments and offices | Review relevant policies, programs and regulations and identify modifications or new work | Report proposed actions within 90 days |
| HHS Secretary | Receive agency reports, chair the working group and provide administrative support | During implementation |
| Interagency working group | Coordinate federal fitness activities, share information and reduce overlap | At least twice each year |
What happened next
EO 13266 signed.
EO 13266 ordered the agency reviews and created the working group.
The 90-day period for proposed agency actions ended.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
EO 13266 is an internal-management direction and expressly creates no enforceable right, benefit, trust or responsibility. Agencies may act only within their statutes and appropriations; employee wellness programs also depend on 5 U.S.C. § 7901 and personnel rules. No order-specific merits judgment was located.
Sources by type
If a source is unavailable, first check the cited publisher or another official repository. The cited publisher remains the authority.
Primary and official sources
Orders, laws, court records and official implementation material.
- 5 U.S.C. § 7901 — health service programs (opens in a new tab) Official record
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on October 2, 2026. How we research →