MOSCOW, ID — John Dunn, who operates the University of Idaho's Student Recreation Center, has a theory that students who work out at the facility achieve higher grade point averages.

“The combined GPA of those who visited here at least once was 3.01 versus 2.67 for those who never visited,” he said, referring to data from a survey issued in 2003 by the rec center.

During most weeknights, the stationary bikes and treadmills are in perpetual motion. An average of 1,900 people use the facility on any school day — 75 percent come in from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. In one year's time, the 11 treadmills logged 97,161 miles, the 44 bikes cycled 224,187 miles and the seven stair steppers climbed 662,326 floors. To buffer students' physical efforts, individual TVs were added to some of the bikes, which doubled their usage.

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