Men’s Fitness magazine has ranked the University of Vermont the fifth fittest school in the country in the magazine’s October 2006 issue. This marks the second straight year the institution has been selected by the magazine. UVM was also ranked among the top-10 in 2005.

Vermont earned an A+ in fitness program offerings and an A- for culture for fitness on campus. Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa. was ranked as the “Fittest College” in the country.

When ranking the fittest colleges, the magazine looked at over 12,500 responses from students across the country. Questions were asked regarding the amount of physical activity students participated in each week, how much time they spent doing sedentary activities (other than studying), how much fast food they ate, how many cigarettes they smoked and how much alcohol they consumed. Other questions covered such factors as how many fast-food chains were on campus, whether the school offered services such as extended gym hours and nutritionists; and how fit individuals considered their own respective campuses to be.

The magazine weighted the student responses, crunching the resulting numbers, and the 25 highest overall scores made the Men’s Fitness list. The survey was conducted by Men’s Fitness in conjunction with The Princeton Review.