Introduction: Mental health issues among college students are a growing public health concern. The increasing rates of depression, anxiety and stress tend to interfere with their quality of life and educational attainment. Studies have also suggested high levels of stress in health care profession students. Especially, considerable amount of stress has been noted in medical students. The benefits of Physical activity on the mental health of students have been the focus of some researchers from across the globe. This study was conducted with the objective of comparing the levels of perceived stress among students who were physically active and those who were not.

Materials and Methods:  This study was conducted in a random sample of  300 undergraduate medical   students studying  in a Medical college in kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu. Their level of Physical activity was measured by the International Physical activity Questionnaire, and their stress levels were assessed by the Perceived Stress Scale.

Results: Out of the 300 students who participated in this study, 138 were males and 162 were females. The mean age of the participants was 20 years. Overall prevalence of high stress levels and low physical activity was 29.7% and 35 % respectively. Stress levels were high in students who demonstrated low physical activity compared to students who were highly active.  This relationship was found to be statistically significant.

Conclusion: This study reiterates the importance of physical activity in reducing stress levels among medical students. Implementation of primary prevention strategies, such as, compulsory physical education programs at college level will go a long way in preventing stress and its long term effects in the student community.

Keywords-Stress,Physical activity, students.

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Shankar Kanagasabapathy

Department of Community Medicine, Meenakshi Medical College and Research Institute, Kancheepuram,

India-631552

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.