The “Freshman 15” might be the only thing scarier than a broken condom on college campuses.

It’s an all-too-common tale of binge drinking, eating in the dining halls and the general sedentary lifestyle that can make any size six start to look like Charlie Weis.

The answer to this age-old battle against obesity? Well, that would be your choice of developing an eating disorder or going to the Fitness Center.

The Fitness Center is not only the more socially acceptable

option, but also the healthier choice. Open seven days a week and until 11 p.m. on weekdays, it is a place to break a sweat, make a friend or even find a date.

According to Men’s Health, Ithaca College was the 23rd fittest college in America in 2006. With a few more trips to the Fitness Center, there is no reason we can’t claw our way up the list.

With everything from badminton to a climbing wall to personal trainers, the Fitness Center leaves no stone unturned in offering something for everyone.

Granted there is a striking resemblance to a middle school dance when you get inside — chicks to the elliptical machines, dudes to the bench presses. But these are merely cosmetics.

The Fitness Center is a community — a place to play a pickup basketball game, join the circus club (ICircus) or whatever else it takes to burn off the calories from the million Jager bombs you took over the weekend.  

Senior Adam Nord has been frequenting the Fitness Center for more than three years now. If he could, he’d work out eight days a week. As of right now, though, he settles for seven.

“I exercise vigorously,” he said. “It puts me in a better mood, and I usually work out in the morning, so that I have more energy later in the day.”

Senior Naomi Rotstein is another gym rat. She’s in there at least five times a week running, lifting and doing more than her share to make Ithaca the fittest in the nation.

“I think it’s important to stay physically fit, and I want to pursue a career in the fitness field,” she said. “So basically, I love the gym.”

It is these kinds of healthy lifestyles that exist in stark contrast to the blunt-cruises and bedtime bong rips that put Ithaca at 16th place on the Princeton Review’s “Reefer Madness” list.

“Those kids should take a little more initiative about being in better shape and taking care of themselves,” Nord said. “They would feel better.”

The drug war is an ongoing battle and the war on terror … well, who knows. But the war on obesity is winnable. And at Ithaca, the first front is the Fitness Center.