How Much Is Too Much? Are Students' Backpacks Too Heavy?

Overview

Objectives/Goals I noticed on some days my school backpack was very heavy, and I noticed my friends complaining of the same problem. This project was designed to figure out if students routinely carry too much weight in their backpacks. I wanted to raise awareness, so that students, parents, and teachers would become conscious of how the students might be putting their backs at risk. Methods/Materials In this experiment, 213 weights of students and their backpacks were recorded and compared to national recommendations. The subjects were in grades 4-8. The backpack weights were divided by the subjects# body weights to calculate the backpack weights as a percentage of the child#s body weight. A digital scale was used to record students weights, and a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet was used to calculate the percentage. Results 51% of the fourth and fifth grade subjects carried loads that exceeded 15% of their body weight. 48% of the middle school subjects also carried loads that were more than 15% of their body weight. Conclusions/Discussion Many health and chiropractic associations recommend carrying loads of no more than either 10% or 15% of the child#s body weight, but the results show that many students may be putting their backs at risk by carrying too much. Approximately half of all the subjects tested carried a load that exceeded 15% of their body weight.

Competition history

• CSEF 2005 Social Sciences (Junior Division Only) · Entry J1719

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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