Assessment of School Backpack Weight and Other Characteristics in Elementary Schools, Yazd-Iran

The carry of heavy backpacks by school children may be associated with several potential health consequences. The aim of this study was to determine the percentage of body weight represented by school backpacks and other related factors. The cross-sectional study has been done in eight primary schools in Yazd city in which a total of 783 students’ boys (217 subjects in boys’ private schools and 566 ones in boy's governmental schools), grades 1 to 5, were studied. Measures included body mass and school bag weight of students and then the relative backpack weight (RBW) was calculated as percentage of body weight. The average backpack weight was 4.6 kg (range, 1.3 kg to 20.6 kg) and represented 12.9% (range, 5.5% to 37%) of the subjects’ body weights. In private schools, about 43.7% of the students carried backpacks weighing less than 10 percent, 38.4% between 10 – 14% and 17.9% of the students 15 percent or more of their body weights versus 66.2%, 23.5% and 10.3% in governmental schools, respectively. The majority of students carried their bags over one or two shoulders and only 4% used roller bags. The contents of backpacks were mainly text books, exercise books or test books. In conclusion the result of this study indicated that the students of private schools carried heavier backpacks than those of governmental ones and therefore it appears to be reasonable to lighten the load of backpacks and educate students for carrying correctly school backpacks.