The University of Alabama has a lot to offer prospective students. From world-class academics to the Crimson Tide football program, UA is consistently at the top.
And now, students who attend the University are all but guaranteed a top-notch chance at beating the “freshman fifteen.” The University has been ranked one of the fittest schools in the U.S. by Men’s Health magazine.
In a list published recently by Men’s Health magazine, the University of Alabama was ranked the No. 10 fittest campus in the nation, coming in ahead of the University of Florida, who ranked No. 12, and the University of Georgia, who came in at No. 19.
The University received its high ranking because of the many nutritional and fitness programs it offers, such as UA’s CampusDish program, which gives students nutrition tips and healthy eating advice, the article states. Other factors, such as UA’s bicycle program, state-of-the-art swimming facilities, and the hundreds of cardio and strength-training machines available to students at the Recreation Center contributed to the University’s high ranking.
Men’s Health Magazine developed a fitness index that was used to evaluate each campus individually, according to the magazine’s website. Evaluators used fitness, nutrition and campus indexes to determine which schools promoted fitness among their students.
The first index, fitness, takes into account many different aspects of the school’s fitness facilities and athletic programs.
“The FITNESS Index accounted for the number of intramural athletic clubs, gyms, basketball courts and lap pools; the number of NCAA titles the school had won; and whether a fitness requirement was needed to graduate,” the article states.
Men’s Health also used the food choices that were available to students to compare nutrition between campuses.
“The NUTRITION Index determined whether a nutritionist was available for students, how many fast-food joints littered the campus, whether calories were posted online and the number of bars within a mile radius,” according to the article.
Finally, the magazine used factors such as health education and climate to determine how fitness-friendly each campus was.
“The CAMPUS Index gauged how many health and fitness majors were offered, the mean on-campus temperature and the annual percentage of sunshine (more sun meant more incentive to go outside),” the article states.
According to the article, fitness and nutrition were weighted more in the calculation. Once the numbers were collected and calculated, the magazine came up with the list.
Ohio State is ranked by Men’s Health as the fittest school in the nation, earning an almost perfect score from the magazine. This score is in part because Ohio State has four recreation centers, an ice-climbing wall, a video game fitness center and many other options to keep students fit.
Students exhibited a mixture of pride and surprise that UA placed so high in the Men’s Health list.
“You have to be kidding me,” said Adam Smith, a freshman majoring in economics. “Everything down here is fried. It’s hard to believe we are one of the fittest campuses in the nation when we eat all this fattening food all the time.”
Other students commended the University for promoting healthy eating choices and physical fitness among students.
“I think it’s great that we go to a University that provides healthy food choices and ways to stay fit,” said Jennifer Williams, a junior majoring in public relations.
