Background & objectives: Studies have shown that physical activity has decreased in all age groups, especially in teenagers, and sedentary life is one of the most important threatening of public health. This study aimed to determine the effect of physical activity on social and general health of nursing students. Methods: In this study, of nursing students who met the inclusion criteria, 60 persons were randomly selected, then equally and randomly were allocated to two groups. The intervention group, according to plan carried out by a specialist in exercise physiology, did physical activity for 8-week, the control group received no intervention. At the beginning and the end of the study period, general health status with GHQ28 questionnaire (in both groups) and body composition with the body composition analysis device (only in the intervention group) were measured and compared The results: In the intervention group the mean and standard deviation of the general health score before and after the intervention were 34.90 ± 22.15 and 15.70 ± 5.13 respectively (P <0.001). In the control group the mean and standard deviation of the pre-test and post-test of the general health score were 35.27±11.42 and 35.50±7.16 respectively (P=0. 087). General health status in the experimental group after the intervention compared to the control group was significantly improved (P<0.001). Conclusions: Doing Regular exercise for at least 8 weeks can improve the general health indicators, including physical symptoms, depression, anxiety, insomnia, social and functional health of students.
