The weight and use of schoolbags in New Zealand secondary schools

Abstract

The weight and use of schoolbags amongst 140 students (70 third form students comprising 35 females and 35 males, and 70 sixth form students comprising 35 females and 35 males) from five New Zealand secondary schools was investigated. Third form students, who were smaller in stature and weight than sixth form students, were found to carry 13.2% of their body weight in schoolbags, while sixth form students carried 10.3% of their body weight. Third form students reported carrying their schoolbags for a longer period of time than sixth form students. Third form students also had less access to lockers to store their schoolbooks and supplies as only one of the five schools investigated provided lockers for third form students, whereas four of the five schools provided lockers for sixth form students. Most students used backpacks to transport their supplies, and these were predominantly carried on two shoulders. Heavy schoolbags, long carriage durations and lack of access to lockers amongst third formers, could contribute to the production or maintenance of musculoskeletal symptoms. This study suggests that third form students may be at a higher risk of developing musculoskeletal symptoms than sixth form students.

Guidelines for schoolbag carriage: An appraisal of safe load limits for schoolbag weight and duration of carriage

“…Schoolbag weight and duration of carriage have been investigated within the same studies, but independent of each other [1,4,24,[26][27][28]. However fundamental biomechanical principles of load and energy consumption suggest that schoolbag weight, and the exposure to that weight, should be investigated in combination with each other in order to acquire a measure of the mechanical burden that results from carrying a schoolbag.…”

“…Although the duration of carriage has been reported [1,4,20,[23][24][25][26][27][28], the systematic assessment of the utility of cut-off values for duration of carriage in identifying schoolbag-related discomfort has not been undertaken.…”

“…Schoolbag weight is the main factor that has been analyzed in an effort to develop guidelines for the safe carriage of schoolbags [1][2][3][4][5][6]. However, there is no global agreement on the cut-off point for a schoolbag weight limit.…”

Effect of single and double strap backpacks on lung function

“…Leisure or expeditionary hikers carry light day-packs or heavy alpine-style backpacks during recreational trail or mountain walking (Legg et al 1997). Students in primary, secondary and tertiary education commonly use backpacks to carry their books and sporting equipment on a daily basis (Negrini et al 1999, Grimmer et al 1999, Grimmer and Williams, 2000, Whittfield et al 2001, 2003.…”

Analysis of the Ground Reaction Force Parameters According to the Change of Position and Weights of Bag during Downward Stairs Between Dominant and Non-dominant in Upper & lower limbs

“…또한 가방의 무게가 무거워 지면 체간은 전방기울기를 필요로 하고 이로 인한 신체의 부정렬은 허 리의 과긴장과 비정상적인 자세, 잘못된 보행으로 진행되 어 관절, 근육, 뇌와 신체구조 등에 영향이 미친다고 하였 다 (Pascoe, Wang, & Shim, 1997;Forjuoh, Lane, & Schuchmann, 2003). 이렇게 반복적인 일측성 부하는 지속 되는 스트레스로 인해 근육과 신경의 조절이 약해지고 근 골격계의 문제를 발생시켜 (Whittfield, Legg, & Hedderley, 2001) 신체운동을 조절하려는 전략적인 움직임의 제한이 나타나 (Nies & Sinnott, 1991), 신체의 역학적인 측면뿐만 아니라 생리학적인 불균형으로 말초의 불균형이 충추신경 계의 변화를 유발한다고 하였다 (Nigg, 1986). 하지만 일부 선행연구에서는 일측성 부하가 있는 상황 의 정적자세에서 비우세측 보다 우세측 팔에 휴대하였을 때 균형 능력이 더 높다고 보고하였다 (Kim, J. S., Kim, k., et al, 2011).…”