5 ms·

Why is carrying 5kg of books unhealthy for children?

by batch12 3y ago

kranke155 3y ago
It’s unhealthy to carry them in modern backpacks id say. Poor design in a lot of them helps contribute to back problems
- jwestbury 3y ago
  I've spent a lot of time hiking and backpacking. I've also had to walk five miles home (that's about 8km for those not in insane countries that start with "United") when buses or trains were cancelled due to weather. I absolutely refuse to buy a backpack without a hip belt of some sort, because while you might not really need it for the five-minute walk from the bus stop or train station to the office, that changes when you're carrying it for a two-hour walk in the snow.
  - naavis 3y ago
    Yep, a hip belt on a backpack makes a world of difference when you can put most of the weight on your hips instead of your shoulders.
  - kranke155 3y ago
    As a child I remember doing 45min + a day with them Thank you for the tip btw I am soon in the market for a backpack and will take care to get a good chest strap
Ekaros 3y ago
If we take a young child weighting 20-30 kg, 5 kg would be 1/4th to 1/6th of body mass... 15-20 kg or 10-15kg carried daily by adult is not a light load. And children have less developed bodies.
- eddtests 3y ago
  Do 20kg children ever really carry 5kg bags though?
  - Foobar8568 3y ago
    I wouldn't be surprised if 25kg kids would need to carry 5kg bags. When I was a teen, I had to carry 10kg and I am sure I wasn't over than 35kg at that time. I was particularly slim but not as slim as some kids I am seeing today.
    - eddtests 3y ago
      25kg is the average weight of a 7 year old girl, so I think it’s fair to say the youngest lightest average child in school. Id be interested what Grade 1 girls are carrying around that’s totalling 5kg - that’s three hardcover undergrad physics textbooks lol. And even if they do combine to 5kg, there’s no evidence it causes any harm to children!
belugacat 3y ago
“Many authors have concluded that the weight of a school backpack should not exceed 10% of the child's body weight” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4564613/#:~:text=There%20are%20dangers%20that%20excessive,gait%20%5B16–19%5D https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4564613/#:~:tex.... The average 6 year old weighs 20 kg. The average 10 year old weighs 30kg. https://www.disabled-world.com/calculators-charts/height-weight-teens.php https://www.disabled-world.com/calculators-charts/height-wei...
- willcipriano 3y ago
  That paper also finds problems with sitting: > However, when the child begins to attend school, their time spent in a sitting position is extended, which can result in disorders of posturogenesis.
- arp242 3y ago
  No 6 year old is lugging around a backpack full books; these are teens we're talking about.
  - seanmcdirmid 3y ago
    5 kg is only a couple of textbooks. Teens need to pick what books to take home. Obviously digital is free weight, but physical textbooks have a real weight cost, I don’t want my kid going through what I had to go through.
- batch12 3y ago
  > However, there is still no clear information about the impact that a school backpack has on the formation of spinal curvature in the sagittal plane in school children. The next sentence following the stats quoted from the link.
  - chillbill 3y ago
    [dead]
- lm28469 3y ago

Why is carrying 5kg of books unhealthy for children?

kranke155 3y ago

It’s unhealthy to carry them in modern backpacks id say. Poor design in a lot of them helps contribute to back problems

jwestbury 3y ago
I've spent a lot of time hiking and backpacking. I've also had to walk five miles home (that's about 8km for those not in insane countries that start with "United") when buses or trains were cancelled due to weather. I absolutely refuse to buy a backpack without a hip belt of some sort, because while you might not really need it for the five-minute walk from the bus stop or train station to the office, that changes when you're carrying it for a two-hour walk in the snow.
- naavis 3y ago
  Yep, a hip belt on a backpack makes a world of difference when you can put most of the weight on your hips instead of your shoulders.
- kranke155 3y ago
  As a child I remember doing 45min + a day with them Thank you for the tip btw I am soon in the market for a backpack and will take care to get a good chest strap

Ekaros 3y ago

If we take a young child weighting 20-30 kg, 5 kg would be 1/4th to 1/6th of body mass... 15-20 kg or 10-15kg carried daily by adult is not a light load. And children have less developed bodies.

eddtests 3y ago
Do 20kg children ever really carry 5kg bags though?
- Foobar8568 3y ago
  I wouldn't be surprised if 25kg kids would need to carry 5kg bags. When I was a teen, I had to carry 10kg and I am sure I wasn't over than 35kg at that time. I was particularly slim but not as slim as some kids I am seeing today.
  - eddtests 3y ago
    25kg is the average weight of a 7 year old girl, so I think it’s fair to say the youngest lightest average child in school. Id be interested what Grade 1 girls are carrying around that’s totalling 5kg - that’s three hardcover undergrad physics textbooks lol. And even if they do combine to 5kg, there’s no evidence it causes any harm to children!

belugacat 3y ago

“Many authors have concluded that the weight of a school backpack should not exceed 10% of the child's body weight” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4564613/#:~:text=There%20are%20dangers%20that%20excessive,gait%20%5B16–19%5D https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4564613/#:~:tex.... The average 6 year old weighs 20 kg. The average 10 year old weighs 30kg. https://www.disabled-world.com/calculators-charts/height-weight-teens.php https://www.disabled-world.com/calculators-charts/height-wei...

willcipriano 3y ago
That paper also finds problems with sitting: > However, when the child begins to attend school, their time spent in a sitting position is extended, which can result in disorders of posturogenesis.
arp242 3y ago
No 6 year old is lugging around a backpack full books; these are teens we're talking about.
- seanmcdirmid 3y ago
  5 kg is only a couple of textbooks. Teens need to pick what books to take home. Obviously digital is free weight, but physical textbooks have a real weight cost, I don’t want my kid going through what I had to go through.
batch12 3y ago
> However, there is still no clear information about the impact that a school backpack has on the formation of spinal curvature in the sagittal plane in school children. The next sentence following the stats quoted from the link.
- chillbill 3y ago
  [dead]
lm28469 3y ago