Research Impact: Excess school bag weight is responsible for musculoskeletal complaints among children and adolescents. This study examined parents’ and adolescents’ perceptions of school bag weights and actual school bag weights for adolescents in New Zealand. Overall, 68.3% of parents perceived that adolescents’ school bags were too heavy to carry to school. Adolescents perceived that their school bags were too heavy to carry to walk (57.8%) or cycle (65.8%) to school. Actual school bag weight was, on average, 5.6 ± 2.1 kg. School bag weight was a greater perceived barrier among users of motorized versus active transport and should be considered in future interventions to promote active transport to school.
Mandic, S., Keller, R., Bengoechea, E.G., Moore, A., & Coppell, K. J. (2018). School Bag Weight as a Barrier to Active Transport to School among New Zealand Adolescents. Children, 5, 129. doi:10.3390/children5100129
PESS News & Information 