Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Physical Activity and Sports on the General Health and Life Expectancy in Soldiers

Physical activity is one of the factors that can improve dimensions of personality in society and play an essential role in community health.

This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of physical activity and exercise on the general health and life expectancy in soldiers.

The present study is a descriptive correlational study. Two hundred soldiers were selected by available sampling method from a military base. Based on the amount of physical activity per week, soldiers are divided into two groups: active and inactive. They completed general health and life expectancy questionnaires. SPSS 16 was used for data analysis (P<0.05).

The results showed that active soldiers have a lower score in the subscales of physical symptoms (P=0.001), anxiety and insomnia (P=0.001), social dysfunction (P= 0.001), depression (P= 0.001), and the Total general health score (P= 0.001) compared to inactive soldiers. However, there was no significant difference between life expectancy scores between the two groups (P= 0.555).

The results of this study showed that active soldiers have better health. It is an important issue for garison’s officials for planning to enhance physical activity programs and soldiers’ health.