Is your child’s schoolbag weighing them down?

Provisional research from South Africa has shown that 28% of school children carry a schoolbag that exceeds 20% of their own bodyweight. To put this into perspective, this load is equivalent to what typical hikers would carry on a multi-day trek across the mountains for survival. Recent evidence also shows that children carrying these excessively heavy schoolbags are approximately 3 times more likely to report pain associated with such loads.

We, as part of the Physical Activity, Sport and Recreation (PhASRec) research group, would like to investigate typical schoolbag loads across different age groups in schools, as well as whether these loads change depending on the school quintile. We also want to investigate the effects of schoolbag carriage on posture, balance, foot pressure and lung function. 

If you would like to, or would like your child to, participate in this research and meet the inclusion criteria provided below, please contact us at NWU.SchoolbagProject@gmail.com to make your booking. 

Time: Testing will take place every Thursday, 14:00-17:00, March-July 2023

Venue: Building K3, Gymnastics Hall, c/o Thabo Mbeki and Meyer Str, North-West University, Potchefstroom

Inclusion Criteria:

• Aged 9-17 years (grades 3-11)
• Must have physical ability to carry own bag
• Must sign informed consent form (parent) and informed assent form (child)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Children with disabilities or injuries related to functional fitness