Effect of heavy school bags on the health of children

ABSTRACT

To evaluate how much the backpacks of elementary school children weigh and the percentage of body weight represented by them. To determine the attribute of school backpacks and key out the methods of carrying backpacks. Cross sectional study. This is a cross sectional study conducted on school girls and boys of age between 5-15 years during April 2008 to Sept 2008 in Karachi. Sample of 660 students was taken. Students were interviewed with structured pre-tested questionnaire asking about How they travel to and from school [walk/transport]? How they carry bags? If they have pain due to bag carriage? Where they feel pain [shoulder/neck/back]? Do they consult doctor for pain? How many days they remain absent from school due to pain? How they get relief from pain? School bags averaged weight is 4.9 kg. Related to body weight of the students, school bag represented an average weight of 18.00% .The maximum value for bag weight relative to body mass was 48%.About 89.1% of students carried bags weighing more than 10% of their body mass. Bag surface area ranges from 87 cm in the first grade to 2322 cm in the 7th grade. The maximal ratio of Bag surface area to student's trunk area was 266.27.The proportion of students who experienced bodily pain due to back pack carriage was 67%.Regarding intensity of pain; 40.5% students had complain of mild pain, 17.4% students had complain of moderate pain, while 10.8% had severe intensity of pain. The average bag weight of students relative to their body weight who felt pain was 19.00% of their body weight while the average bag weight of students relative to their body weight who did not felt pain was 17.21%. Our research analysis shows that 7% students were absent from school due to pain.N6% of students visited doctor with complain of pain. School students of Karachi 5-15 years old seem to carry substantial backpack loads, which represent more than 10 percent of children's body weight