Centro de Documentacion de Fundación MAPFRE - The Use of schoolbags and musculoskeletal symptoms among primary school children : are the recommended weight limits adequate?

MAP20130010151

The Use of schoolbags and musculoskeletal symptoms among primary school children : are the recommended weight limits adequate? / Iman Dianat...[et.al]

Sumario: This cross-sectional study investigated the use of schoolbags and the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms among a sample of 307 Iranian primary school children aged 712 years. The average load carried by the children was 2.9 kg (representing on average 10.1% of the child's body weight). Most children chose to carry the schoolbag across two shoulders, although significant numbers also carried it on one shoulder or in the hand. Although the amount of load carried by school children was within the currently suggested load limit of 10% to 15% of the child's body weight, the prevalence of musculoskeletal problems was very high among the study population. Multiple logistic regression models indicated that the method of carrying the schoolbag was significantly associated with hand/wrist and shoulder symptoms, and that the time spent carrying a schoolbag was associated with hand/wrist and upper back symptoms. Schoolbag weight (expressed as a percentage of body weight) was only associated with hand/wrist symptoms. The results suggest that the current recommended weight limit may not be appropriate for school children in primary school, and that guidelines ought to consider factors other than relative schoolbag weight that influence the use of schoolbags among this age group

En: Ergonomics : the international journal of research and practice in human factors and ergonomics. - Oxon [United Kingdom] : Taylor & Francis, 2010- = ISSN 0014-0139. - 07/01/2013 Volumen 56 Número 1 - enero 2013 , p. 79-89