• In general the promotion of physical and mental health has become an important concern

all over the world ( Saxena , Funk & Chisholm, 2015).

• Exercises and physical activities have many benefits for health and well being of individuals
( Biddle , Gurley , & Mutrie ,2015 ).
• 2014 concluded that participation in school Sports activities during puberty is a significant
predictor of symptoms of depression and stress in adulthood. In addiction to the above
finding the result of study of matlabi and nourbakhsh (2010 ).
• These results indicated that participation in sports activities has significant effect on mental
health this also indicated that with the increase in participation in sports activities , The
probability of depression and suicidal idation were respectively reduced by 25% and 12%.
• In summary taking into account the important role that women play in family , community
and economics , it is important to pay attention to their General Health Because the lack of
women’s health can cost a lot to any society and country.
• Therefore, The present was conducted to compare General Health in athletic and non
athletic women so that it becomes a step forward to fill the research gap in this area.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
• It is essential in assessing the general health of individuals. One should not only focus on traditional health indicators such as mortality
and disease, but also the perception of people about their quality of life (physical, mental and social status).
• Since the mental disorders of mothers affect their children’s development, considering the general health of women is important
because of the vital role they play as a workforce, mother, care giver and citizen. Women’s participation as a workforce also
strengthens economic growth, so that women’s economic efficiency is one of the keys to the success of the modern economy as well
as the welfare of the family. Therefore, social and economic policies should seek to increase the mental and physical health of women
(Duggan, 2016). In general, the promotion of physical and mental health has become an important concern all over the world (Saxena,
Funk, & Chisholm, 2015). Exercise and physical activities have many benefits for the health and well-being of individuals (Biddle,
Gurley, & Mutrie, 2015). Research evidences suggest the positive effect of exercise on the health of individuals. For example,
Marleir et al. (2015) demonstrated a direct relationship between participation in sports activities with mental health. Jewett et al. (
2014) concluded that participation in school sports activities during puberty is a significant predictor of symptoms of depression and
stress in adulthood. In addition to the above findings, the results of study of Matalbi and Nourbakhsh (2010) indicated that there is a
significant difference between athlete and nonathlete groups in mental health, physical symptoms, anxiety, sleep disturbance and
social function. These results indicated that participation in sports activities has significant effects on mental health. Babiss and
Gangwisch (2009) also indicated that with the increase in participation in sports activities, the probability of depression and suicidal
ideation were respectively reduced by 25% and 12%.
• In summary, taking into account the important role that women play in family, community and economics, it is important to pay
attention to their general health. Because the lack of women’s health can cost a lot to any society and country. Therefore, the present
study was conducted to compare general health in athlete and non-athlete women so that it becomes a step forward to fill the
research gaps in this area are performed to improve the general health in women.
Mental health refers to the overall well-being of an individual. It is about the balance of the social,
physical, spiritual and emotional aspects of life. Our Mental Health is characterized by our personal
growth, sense of purpose, self-acceptance, and positive relationship with other people. It is also highly
affected by environmental factors like our family life, social life, and our life at work. Our general well-
being is decreased by any negative experiences in any of these areas. Among the most common Mental
Illnesses or Mental Disorders are Anxiety and Depression. Mental Health is a concept that refers to the
psychological and emotional well-being of a person. Being mentally healthy generally means that you are
able to use your emotional capabilities to function well in society and go through everyday life with little
or no difficulty. Direct participation in sport is one of the most enjoyable, and therefore powerful, means
of motivating and mobilizing people to become physically active. In addition to enhancing overall
physical fitness, regular physical activity, active play and sports can have a positive impact on other major
health risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, tobacco use and stress.
University students are the transitional stage from adolescence to adulthood.

In summary, taking into account the important role that women play in family, community and
economics, it is important to pay attention to their general health. Because the lack of women’s
health can cost a lot to any society and country. Therefore, the present study was conducted to
compare general health in athlete and non-athlete women so that it becomes a step forward to
fill the research gaps in this area are performed to improve the general health in women. This
makes it clear that there is need of further researches and analysis on this particular field.
 3.Rationale
In assessing the general health of individuals, one should not only focus on
traditional health indicators such as mortality and disease, but also the perception of
people about their quality of life (physical, mental and social status). General health
is very important in today’s time. By performing this study we also get to know about
the levels of health in both females who involved and not involved in sports or
physical activities. It’s also allows us to become more conscious about our needs of
body to become more fit and healthy. Mental health refers to the overall well-being
of an individual. It is about the balance of the social, physical, spiritual and emotional
aspects of life. Our Mental Health is characterized by our personal growth, sense of
purpose, self-acceptance, and positive relationship with other people taking into
account the important role that women play in family, community and economics, it
is important to pay attention to their general health because the lack of women’s
health can cost a lot to any society and country.
 4.Hypothesis
There will be significant difference of general health between athletic
and non-athletic females.
 Methodology
a) SAMPLE: The sample of 50 females were selected by using purposive sampling method. From
which 25 females were athletics and 25 were non – athletics. Age range of the participants is 18-
25 years .

b) VARIABLES: General health as independent variable and athlete and non-athlete females as
dependent variable .

c) Tools: General health questionnaire (GHQ 28) has been developed by Goldberg (1978). This
questionnaire has 28 items and four subscales including somatic symptoms (items 1-7); anxiety
(items8-14) ; social dysfunction (items 15-21) and severe (items 22-28). This scale is a fourpoint
Likert scale from (zero) no more than usual (score 1) rather more than usual ( score 2) much more
than usual (score 3) indicates a greater disorder in mental health of individuals (Goldberg, 1978).
Numerous studies have investigated reliability and validity of the GHQ -28 in various populations.
Malakouti, Fatollahi, Mirabzadeh, and Zandi (2007) reported that the Cronbach’s alpha, split-half
coefficients and test- retest reliability were 0.9,0.89 and 0.58 repectively and recommended that for
identifying individuals with the psychiatric diagnoses, GHQ-28 has a sensitivity 0.83, specificity 0.76.

d) Statistical Analysis : The data was coded and the test scores were obtained to summarize the
data through taking out the mean standard deviation and t test the collected data was organized in
Microsoft office.
6. Result
The data which were collected from the subjects were treated statistically. To compare the
general health among sports and non sports women, thus the score obtained from data collection
were treated statistically ‘t-test’ and the level of significance was kept at 0.05 level.

Table: Descriptive analysis of the data of general healthSTANDARD

among DEVIATION
selected groups;
TEST NUMBER MEAN T-VALUE
Sports Women 25 26.55 3.59 3.395
Non-Sports 25 21.60 4.52
Women
significant at 0.05level. (table value required for significance at 0.05 level for ‘t test’ is 2.712)

Table indicates that there was significant difference in mental health between sports and non-sports women.
Because the mean value obtained from sports women were 26.55 and non sports women were 21.60
respectively and ‘T’ value between them was 3.395. the obtained of 3.395 is significant as it was greater
than the value of 2.712 for the significance at 0.05 levels.
The purpose of the study was to finally carried out the differences between general health between sports
and non sports women. For this purpose the general health was selected as the independent variable. The
collected data was analyzed statistically by using ‘T’ ratio to find out the significant differences between
means. The result of the study reveals that there were significant differences in general health of sports and
non sports women.
Discussion and Conclusion

The purpose of this study was to compare general health in athlete and non-athlete
women the findings on this study indicated that somatic symptoms in athletes are
less than non athlete women anti anxiety effects of exercise and physical activities
can be explained on various mechanisms, including physical, psychological and
physiological mechanism of exercise. The findings of this study also indicated that
depression symptoms in athlete women is lower than non athlete women. It can be
stated that physical activities can be effective in reducing the symptoms of
depression through increasing sense of competence, independence and increase in
self-esteem of individuals. It is also seen that sports activities enhance the social
skills through enhancing social expression and assertiveness thereby improving
their social performance.
Reference
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