Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 4 Apr 2001

Vol. 534 No. 1

Written Answers. - Weight of School Bags.

David Stanton

Question:

76 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to any research which has been carried out or is ongoing into the possible health risks, both long and short term, to children and teenagers which could be caused by the carrying of heavy school bags; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9968/01]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

Most research in the area of carrying – manual handling – is related to work practices and therefore deals with adult populations. However, there are two known studies that compare the physiological parameters of different methods of carrying school bags, Malhorta & Sengupta, 1965, and O'Regan & Dockrell, 1994.

In both studies, while hand carriage was the least economical, the rucksack or backpack method proved to be the most economical in physiological terms. A further study – Pascoe et al, 1997 – investigating the effects of carrying on the gait and posture of 11 to 13 year olds, found that bag carrying affects the normal gait pattern. The subjects carried 17% of their normal body weight and the research found that a one-strap bag promoted greater side bending of the trunk compared with a backpack worn over both shoulders. A backpack worn over both shoulders was shown to induce greater forward lean of the trunk than a one-strap bag.

This forward lean was further demonstrated in a study on the effects of carrying school bags of ten year old children by Kennedy et al, 1997. The subjects carried weights in a rucksack type school bag that were proportional to 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% of their own body weight. Results showed a significant forward lean of the trunk when subjects were carrying the school bag which became more exaggerated with increasing load magnitude.

While lifting and carrying have been associated with back pain in adults, this association has not been established for back pain in childhood.

As Minister for Education and Science, I appointed a working group to examine the potential problems caused by the weight of heavy school bags. The recommendations of the group in its report presented to me in July 1998 included: an awareness raising campaign in all primary and post-primary schools; examining the feasibility of providing appropriate storage facilities in future specifications for furniture manufacturers; to continue to afford the option of book storage in the case of new post-primary schools.