Poor physical health condition is common among prison inmates due to movement limitation during confinement. The negative effects of custody on health can be reduced to a minimum with the principle that time spent in custody can be used to include participation in organised physical activities to promote physical health of inmates while in confinement. The study is aimed at determining the relationship between sport participation and physical health of inmates in Ilesa Prison in Osun State of Nigeria. The study employed experimental pretest – posttest control research design. This study was carried out over a 10 week period at the Ilesa prison in Osun State, Nigerian. 140 inmates were selected for the study. The respondents were grouped into four sports- athletics (sprints and relays), badminton, table-tennis and volleyball. The physical health domain of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale (WHOQOL-BREF) was adapted and used to determine the inmates’ perception of their physical health. The data collected on reported physical health condition of inmates against the different categories of sport participation (athletics, badminton, table-tennis and volley-ball) of the respondents were analysed with descriptive and inferential statistics. Multiple regression analysis, Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficients and Analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to determine whether differences observed on the physical health perceptions by inmates and sports participation are significant. The study revealed a moderate correlation between participation in athletics and physical health (r=0.685); participation in Table Tennis and physical health (r=.697) and participation in volleyball and physical health (r=.504). It is therefore, concluded that participation in different sports can definitely influence the perception of physical health among inmates of Ilesa prison in Osun State of Nigeria.

inmates, sport participation, physical health, prison, quality of life