Abstract
Background: Excessive school bag weight is a barrier to active transport to school (ATS). This study examined parents’ and adolescents’ perceptions of school bag weights and actual school bag weights for adolescents in New Zealand. Methods: Parents (n = 331; 76.7% women) completed a survey. Adolescents (n = 682; age 15.1 ± 1.4 years; 57.3% boys) completed a survey, underwent anthropometry, and had their school bags weighed. Results: Overall, 68.3% of parents perceived that adolescents’ school bags were too heavy to carry to school. This parental perception differed by adolescents’ mode of transport to school (active/motorized/combined: 35.1%/78.4%/68.8%, p < 0.001). Adolescents perceived that their school bags were too heavy to carry to walk (57.8%) or cycle (65.8%) to school. Adolescent perceptions differed by mode of transport to school (for walking (active/motorized/combined): 30.9%/69.2%/55.9% agree, p < 0.001; for cycling: 47.9%/72.8%/67.7%; p < 0.001). Actual school bag weight was, on average, 5.6 ± 2.1 kg. Relative school bag weight (% of body weight) was higher for boys and underweight adolescents compared to their counterparts. Neither absolute nor relative school bag weight differed by mode of transport to school. Conclusions: School bag weight was perceived a barrier to ATS and was a greater perceived barrier among users of motorized versus active transport. Perceptions of school bag weights should be considered in future ATS interventions.
Highlights
Excess school bag weight and associated factors, including school bag weight relative to child/adolescent weight, method of carrying, and time spent carrying a school bag are thought to be key factors responsible for musculoskeletal complaints among children and adolescents [1,2].Musculoskeletal complaints are a common issue in school-aged children and adolescents and have been identified as an important public health problem [3,4]
Compared to underweight and healthy-weight adolescents, a higher proportion of overweight and obese adolescents agreed that they their school bag was too heavy to walk to school (64.2% versus 54.8%; p = 0.024), whereas no difference between the groups was observed for cycling to school (67.2% versus 65.7%; p = 0.715)
New Zealand adolescents was 5.6 kg, with significant gender and body weight category differences; (b) more than half of parents and adolescents perceived that the adolescents’ school bags were too heavy for walking or cycling to school; and (c) adolescent and parental perceptions differed by adolescents’ mode of transport to school, the actual school bag weights did not differ by mode of transport
Summary
Excess school bag weight and associated factors, including school bag weight relative to child/adolescent weight, method of carrying, and time spent carrying a school bag are thought to be key factors responsible for musculoskeletal complaints among children and adolescents [1,2].Musculoskeletal complaints are a common issue in school-aged children and adolescents and have been identified as an important public health problem [3,4]. The musculoskeletal implications of school bag weight for adolescents may differ depending on the mode of transport to school [2]. Results: Overall, 68.3% of parents perceived that adolescents’ school bags were too heavy to carry to school. This parental perception differed by adolescents’ mode of transport to school (active/motorized/combined: 35.1%/78.4%/68.8%, p < 0.001). Adolescents perceived that their school bags were too heavy to carry to walk (57.8%) or cycle (65.8%) to school. Adolescent perceptions differed by mode of transport to school (for walking (active/motorized/combined): 30.9%/69.2%/55.9% agree, p < 0.001; for cycling: 47.9%/72.8%/67.7%; p < 0.001). Actual school bag weight was, on average, 5.6 ± 2.1 kg
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