First-year students’ schoolbags three times safe weight

Niall Murray, Education Correspondent

The study of 12 to 14-year-olds reveals an average schoolbag weighs 10.35 kilograms, as first-year students have to carry books for up to 19 subjects.

Only three of the 80 students surveyed carried less than 10% of their body weight, as recommended by a 1998 Government working group report on the weight of schoolbags.

The schoolbags of 12 of the group were at least 30% of their own weight. All but one of these students were boys. The remaining 65 students were found to be carrying between 10% and 20% of their weight in their bags.

Health and safety officer Michael Lynch, who carried out the survey, said the weight was not the only issue. He conducted the study among students of three north Cork schools for an education and training thesis at NUI Galway.

“There are also problems around the way in which children carry their bags, as many students do not use both straps to balance the weight,” he said.

“While it would be ideal to use more CD-roms and other computer aids instead of heavy books, many children do not have a computer at home and other health and safety issues arise with sitting at screens.”

The schoolbag weight problem was highlighted in a study last year which found up to a quarter of school children suffer chronic back pain. The Chiropractic Association of Ireland said there had been a dramatic increase in the numbers of young people with pain caused by heavy schoolbags.

Some suggestions for reducing the weight of bags include providing more lockers which would allow students to leave books in school if they are not needed for homework. However, 50 of the 80 students questioned by Mr Lynch said their locker was not big enough to hold items needed for their daily activities.

The Department of Education recently wrote to all primary schools reminding them of the potential health hazards posed by overweight schoolbags.

The 1998 working group report suggested schools should liaise with publishers and include back care in health education programmes. It also recommended that parents buy suitably designed bags and publishers consider the weight of schoolbags when designing textbooks.