Every Wednesday when the clock strikes noon at Pacific LightNet, Lynne Meyer slips out of her sensible pumps and into a pair of well-worn sneakers.

She's going for a walk. And she's dragging a group of co-workers with her.

Hers is one of 34 companies locally who are beginning the American Heart Association's Start! program, which encourages exercise and healthy eating habits through worker incentives and online monitoring.

"The program was initially formatted to cut (employers) healthcare costs, and it's evolved into the employees being engaged year-round," said Leslie Lam, Start! program director in Hawai'i. "We want employees to be healthy, we want the employers to be healthy. In order to do that, we have to create a lifestyle change."

Those lifestyle changes are helping employees increase their productivity, create a more positive office climate and even stay longer with the company, she said.

Some are even seeing the numbers on the scale drop — and they're not alone. Other employee health programs making a dent include Hawaii National Bank, using HMSA's Go Get On Track, in which one participant has lost more than 70 pounds over the last year. One of the bank's departments saw a 25-pound average weight loss — that's per person.

Meyer isn't in it for the weight loss (she kind of semi-snort-laughs when you ask her that).

"It's just walking — not losing weight or anything — but it puts you in better shape," Meyer said. "It's the stress release, getting out of the office, not eating lunch at your desk."

And feeling better she is: When the 51-year-old marketing manager went to Kaua'i with her son's Boy Scout troop, she was able to go on the 6- and 8-mile hikes, keeping up with all the whippersnappers while "climbing up a mountain, holding onto roots."

She marvels as she remembers it. Another parent, a doctor, suggested Meyer take a couple Advil after the hike, but she didn't need it: "I was fine."

Just like any fitness program, Start! in the workplace begins with a simple step, and, luckily, it's a computerized one. Those who log on to the Start! site (www.americanheart.org/start) can access an activity diary that translates pedometer-measured steps into miles, and a nutrition log comes with links to find calories counts, as well.

Meyer said her group began in earnest last May, after finishing the Walk at Work Day in April.

"We walked about a mile through Downtown with 45 walkers," she said. "A good turnout, considering we have 60 to 65 in our office."

Then she chuckled.

"I'm a good nagger, too."

Those early efforts led to Sneaker Wednesdays, which fall on the first Wednesday of the month, when the entire office is encouraged to wear comfortable footwear — all in the name of getting Dilberts off their duffs.

Her group's clip is more than just meandering: They usually clock about 1 1/2 to 2 miles during a 45-minute lunchtime break. (Longer, if the traffic lights are against them.) They may walk to the Capitol, or loop around Foster Botanical Garden or down to Aloha Tower to feed the fish.

"Chinatown is always interesting," Meyer said, adding that the kama'aina end up playing tour guide, pointing out landmarks and other points of interest.

At Christmas, they saw the trees at Honolulu Hale, and when someone didn't recognize the State Library, they went tooling through there as well.

A favorite memory: During a "super hot" August lunchtime walk, Meyer said, the crew ambled over to School Street, where they rewarded themselves with shave ice.

"That was one of our BEST walks," she said.

Start! and being fitness-friendly is more than just exercise, though. For treats, Meyer brings in healthy snacks, such as apples, instead of candy. They've also made sure the vending machine holds healthful choices.

The best thing about the Start! online tool?

"It's easy. It makes sense. It's free of charge, and it's a way to monitor groups," she said. "We might be using that one."

Heart health has been in the news this month, when the state Department of Health released its report, "The Burden of Cardiovascular Disease in Hawaii 2007," noting that while cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Hawai'i in 2005, the percentage is dropping.

However, certain groups — Native Hawaiians and Filipinos, Big Island residents and those with low incomes, low education or who are unemployed — have unusually high rates of death and disease risk, reports Joseph Balabis, health department spokes-person.

The Heart Association is working to make a bigger dent in those statistics.