Children's Backpacks Are Too Heavy, New Study Shows
Majority of Children Carry Too Much Weight for Their Young Bodies, Says Simmons College Study

BOSTON (Feb. 12, 2001) – Lending credence to many parents’ worried suspicions, a new study by Simmons College in Boston shows that a majority of school-age children carry backpack loads that are too heavy for their developing bodies.

The findings by members of the Simmons College Graduate Program in Physical Therapy revealed that 55 percent of the children who were studied carry backpack loads heavier than 15% of their body weight — the weight limit recommended by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. One third of the children reported experiencing back pain that had caused them to visit a doctor, miss school, or abstain from physical activities. The study also showed that girls and younger children carried proportionally heavier loads since they are smaller, which puts them at greater risk.

The study will be presented Feb. 17 at a national conference of the American Physical Therapy Association in San Antonio, TX.

The physical therapists studied 345 children in grades five through eight in Massachusetts who were recruited through Healthnet, a statewide internet health education program. Study methods included written questionnaires, student reports, and weighing of the children and their backpacks.

"Parents and professionals have often voiced concern about their children’s heavy backpacks," said study leader Shelley Goodgold, associate professor of physical therapy at Simmons College, "but there has been little applicable research. Now we know: many school children are carrying backpacks far too heavy for their developing bodies. That should give all of us cause for concern."

Goodgold said that while the children’s reports of back pain cannot definitely be linked to heavy backpacks (injuries in sports, etc. could also contribute), "it is disturbing to find children carrying backpacks heavier than their recommended weight limit, particularly given the vulnerability of youths’ musculoskeletal systems during these growing years."

The majority of the children (94%) carried standard two-strap backpacks and most reported using both straps, but only 4% used the hip belt recommended by health professionals. Goodgold said few children used specially designed backpacks with metal support frames or other features for enhanced support, probably because they are more expensive, are not commonly used by their peers, or are too large to fit into school lockers. Goodgold said collaboration among health professionals, school officials, parents and students is important. Specific strategies to attack the problem include:

• School systems buying two sets of books (one for the classroom and one for the children to keep at home), purchasing books on CDs, or making greater use of classroom overheads.
• Encouraging increased locker use, with enough time between class to return to lockers.
• Schools systems buying paperback books and/or books in volumes, rather than heavy, full hardcover texts.
• Educating children about safe carrying loads, and adult monitoring of their use.

CONTACT

Diane Millikan
617-521-2364

See Also

Simmons Graduate Physical Therapy

 

 

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