Background of the study: Studies on health-promoting behaviors among nursing students have been conducted in a number of countries, but most of them have relied solely on descriptive analysis, which has had little bearing on nursing theory and practice.

Aim: to determine the correlation of health promoting behaviours and body mass index (BMI) among students at an Odisha nursing college.

Methodology: study design was descriptive correlational research design. Setting of the study was in a nursing college in Cuttack – Odisha. Total number of samples selected for the study were 150. Samples were selected through non – probability convenience sampling technique. Research tool consisted of two sections, first section includes socio-demographic variables of the samples and second section has the HPLP II instrument, developed by Walker (1987), was used to assess the attitudes and behaviors of nursing students in regard to health promotion. The original tool was translated into odia language and tested for validity and reliability before collecting data from the samples through self – reporting questionnaire method. BMI of the samples were also assessed for the study and the data collected were analysed with the use of an Excel sheet and SPSS 12.0. The threshold of significance for p values was maintained at 0.05.

Results: in this study there was a negative correlation between BMI and HPLP of the nursing students (r = -0.17 p < 0.03), The study subjects' marital status was discovered to be significantly associated with the total HPLP (F = 0.65, p = 0.01) and the gender of the study subjects was found to be significantly associated to the total HPLP (F = 20.6, p = 0.01)

Conclusion: Marital status highly correlated with health-promoting lifestyle choices at the selected Odisha nursing school, and BMI positively correlated with gender. Health improved with sample-specific physical exercise. Students rarely exercise. The study suggests nursing students plan and prioritize health-promoting activities to improve personal health and maybe support population health programs. Researching similar and unique scenarios should discover issues, apply remedies, and evaluate results