Penn not counted among the fit

In the metaphorical game of dodgeball, Penn just may be the fat kid sitting on the sidelines.

Men's Fitness magazine put out its list of the top 25 fit schools last week, and Penn didn't make the cut.

But Penn director of recreation Michael Diorka disputed the finding, saying that a general survey doesn't necessarily reflect the true fitness of a school.

He said the numbers speak for themselves: An average of 3,600 students use Pottruck Gym on weekdays.

"The usage by people just informally to come in and do what they want, or if they're involved in some type of class, everything has been really really good," he said.

So why didn't Penn, or any Ivy League university for that matter, make the list?

The survey, conducted by the Princeton Review for Men's Fitness, asked 12,500 students at 115 colleges questions to judge how healthy their lifestyles are.

They included questions about their food intake, type and frequency of physical activity, availability of physical activity on campus and the "culture" of the campus.

One question on the survey asked whether the school has a physical fitness requirement for non-varsity athletes.

Penn doesn't have one, but Diorka said that's far from being a valid criterion for judging a fit school.

"The measure if whether or not someone is successful in what they do is what they do with their spare time," he said.

At the University of Virginia, which was rated the 11th-fittest school on the list, a physical fitness class is not required, but many such classes are offered.

UVA freshman Kimmy Feinstein is taking weight training there and said that students take the healthy culture of the campus seriously.

She said she's noticed "a higher percentage of people running for pleasure around the school" compared to other schools. "There's that positive peer pressure to get out and do something."

But students at Penn seem pleased with the offerings on campus too. Not being considered a top fit school is just not that big of a deal, they say.

"A lot of my friends get up early and go work out," said College sophomore Deeptee Jain. "If you look at 'jock schools,' their image is based on how they look."

Other students disagreed, saying that working out isn't always a top priority for busy Penn students.

"It's hard to compare us to another school because there's so much work to do here," said College sophomore Zach Williamson. "People are in surprisingly good shape, especially considering the ridiculous amount of work we do."

And not all fitness experts think it's a good idea to rate an entire school - often with thousands of students - on criteria that are so dependent on individuals.

"There are too many variables there," said California college health consultant Jim Grizzell.

For example, he said, students who work out a lot may also often drink alcohol, which does not promote a healthy lifestyle.

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