The Impact of Backpack Loads on School Children: A Critical Narrative Review.

Michelle Perrone,Robin Orr,Nikki Milne,Rodney Pope,Wayne Hing

doi:10.3390/ijerph15112529

Abstract

Background: Backpack loads of school students during school days have been suggested to range from 10% to as high as 25% of their body weight and may have a negative impact on their body. The aim of this review was to identify and review studies that have examined impacts of contemporary backpack loads on school children. Methods: A systematic search was conducted of the literature using key search terms. After relevant studies published in recent years were selected using strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, the studies were critically appraised and relevant data were extracted and tabulated prior to conducting a critical narrative synthesis of findings. Results: Twenty-one studies were included, ranging in methodological quality from poor to good (critical appraisal scores 22% to 77%). Students carried on average over 15% of their own body weight, which caused biomechanical and physiological adaptations that could increase musculoskeletal injury risk, fatigue, redness, swelling and discomfort. Conclusion: Considering the limited methodological quality and variations in foci across studies, further research is needed to elucidate: (1) the loads students carry around on a school day in their school backpacks and; (2) the biomechanical, physiological and physical effects of load carriage on students.

Highlights

A review by Mackenzie et al [1] in 2003 of backpack loads carried by school students during a school day identified that children were carrying as much as 30% to 40% of their body weight.This review, while acknowledging that no critical maximal load had been established, recommended around 10% of the child’s bodyweight as a maximum limit
Likewise, where the review by Brackley and Stevenson [2] gave maximum load recommendations for school children of 10–15% of body weight, 14 of the 21 studies in this review reported that a load of 10% of the student’s body weight was the appropriate maximum weight to be carried by students to limit the effects of load discomfort, injuries and other adverse impacts [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,18,32,33,34,38]
Based on the methodological quality of studies included in this review and limitations in the contexts in which these studies have been conducted, it is apparent that further research into the impacts of backpack loads in real-world school settings is required using a wider range of school year levels and student ages

Summary

Introduction

The following year, a review by Brackley and Stevenson [2] stated that the majority of work considered the loads carried by children to be above recommended limits, likewise recommending a maximal load of between 10 to 15% of the child’s bodyweight. Since these reviews, more recent research has suggested that these loads are lighter and in some instances may be meeting this recommendation, with loads ranging from. Conclusion: Considering the limited methodological quality and variations in foci across studies, further research is needed to elucidate: (1) the loads students carry around on a school day in their school backpacks and; (2) the biomechanical, physiological and physical effects of load carriage on students

Objectives

Results

Discussion

Conclusion