BU falls from ranks of fittest colleges

Boston University has been usurped by Boston College in a ranking of the nation's "fittest colleges," falling from No. 3 ranking awarded last year after the opening of the Fitness and Recreation Center.

BU did not place in the Top 25 colleges in the 2006 Men's Fitness Magazine rankings, which were based on student responses to 17-question health surveys. BC rose from a No. 11 ranking last year to take the No. 3 spot.

BU students and administrators said they were bewildered, but not offended, by the ranking.

"[It] seems kind of fickle . . . you'd be No. 3 one year and not listed the next," BU spokesman Colin Riley said. "Since three-fourths of our student body is still the same, [it is] unlikely that [the rankings] should've changed at all."

Representatives at Men's Fitness did not respond to emails, but university administrators questioned the methodology of the magazine's rankings.

"I couldn't validate or invalidate the research, because I don't have the facts," FitRec Director Warin Dexter said. "If you look at the lists, most of the 2005 schools are not on the 2006 [list]."

The ranking upset came despite BU's new $97-million FitRec, which opened in April 2005. The Center, which Dexter called "part of the landscape," is visited by 4,500 students daily and is home to state-of-the-art equipment, fitness classes and intramural sports.

FitRec employees said the facility sees heavy student use.

"There is always a plethora of students making use of the facility, and we can accommodate all of them," employee Allison Lewis, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore, said. "I work twice a week on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and, believe it or not, students start to stream in our doors at 8 a.m."

BU's Sargent Choice has also provided healthy options in dining halls and on-campus snack shops since fall 2005, and is expanding its services.

"We take food that everyone likes and adjust the proportion of ingredients," Nutrition and Fitness Center Nutritionist Alison Books said. "Imagine that healthy food can actually taste good, [and that] to make a healthy choice doesn't have to be a concession."

Books said Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and Dining Services are expanding options in the dining halls, the George Sherman Union, Feretti's and Breadwinners, and are partnering with Catering on the Charles to offer more healthy options to the BU community.

"BU does a lot to create a healthy environment for students and faculty," she said.

Men's Fitness surveyed 10,000 students from campuses across, asking students questions about their personal health choices as well as fitness services available on campus.