Mississippi State University is the third fattest college in the nation, Men’s Fitness magazine said this month after analyzing the results of a survey of 10,000 students on 660 campuses.
The magazine, in conjunction with The Princeton Review, compiled results and based the findings on responses to questions about lifestyle factors and the culture of fitness at respective universities.
“The rating certainly doesn’t reflect well on the university,” director of recreational sports at the Sanderson Center Laura Walling said.
She said she had problems with the way the results were calculated. “If you do the math, 10,000 divided by 660 is only about 15, which I infer to mean they only surveyed about a dozen Mississippi State students, so I don’t think it is representative at all.”
Even the editor-in-chief of Men’s Fitness reported that the survey was not scientific, Walling said. “I have a lot of questions about the validity of the survey, but given the magazine in which it appeared, I recognize that it was more for entertainment value rather than scientific value,” she said.
In spite of the inaccuracy of the survey, Walling does not dispute the fact that most MSU students could stand to be a little healthier. “One thing that’s been proven is that the state of Mississippi leads the nation in obesity.” she said.
This might lead one to conclude that Mississippi State is also unhealthy, since over 70 percent of the student body comes from within the state, Walling said.
A variety of factors contribute to the high rates of obesity in Mississippi, assistant director of facilities at the Sanderson Center Patrick Nordin said. “Poor diet, inactivity and poor city planning and land development all contribute. We eat lumberjack-sized meals while leading lifestyles that require little, if any movement,” Nordin explained.
Availability of nutritious meals also factored into the results of the survey. While Perry Cafeteria offers a light, as well as a vegetarian entr?e, the most popular meals are not very nutritious. After an impromptu survey of cafeteria diners, it was clear that the quesadillas, chicken tenders platter and macaroni and cheese were favorites among students.
The portion sizes are the biggest problem, many students said.
“They always give you way too much,” senior medical technology major Heather Jones said.
Another problem reported was the unavailability of nutrition information. Dining services did not respond to attempts at contact.
Healthy lifestyle was not the only factor taken into account to calculate the results of the survey. Culture of fitness played a large part in the findings.
Walling explained the way Men’s Fitness calculated culture of fitness. “They asked if physical fitness courses were a requirement for graduation, if the campus promoted physical activity and for impressions about the overall fitness of each campus,” she said.
Currently, physical education courses are not required to obtain a degree from MSU. However, the Sanderson Center does a lot to promote fitness, Walling said. “The Sanderson Center has aerobics classes, strength training, intramural and club sports, outdoor adventure activities, swimming programs and many other programs to promote wellness.” She said.
Nordin expressed similar views. “The Sanderson Center is one of the finest workout facilities in the Southeast, available to everyone at the university. The doors are open almost 18 hours per day,” he said.
Although MSU offers adequate exercise space, the department of recreational sports is currently conducting its own survey of the entire student body to help determine the campus level of fitness, Walling said.
Also, prior to the poor rating, vice president for student affairs Bill Kibler created a task force of students and faculty to assess MSU’s fitness level, she said. This group will look at the programs that address wellness issues and charge them to make recommendations for improved and new services, she said.
The other fattest universities include the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the University of New Orleans, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and Portland State University.
The five fittest universities are Brigham Young University, the University of California at Santa Barbara, Boston University, the University of Vermont and Northwestern University.