With increase in number of children having back problems, Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) today attributed it to the heavy weight of the bags children carry to schools.
Voicing concern over heavy school bags, President DAK Dr Nisar ul Hassan in a statement said the burden of studies that kids have to carry on their delicate shoulders is weighing them down.
“Majority of school children suffer from back pain, pain in the neck and shoulders due to heavy bags. They come up with fatigue, chronic headaches and early development of bad posture. Growing numbers of children suffer with irreversible back deformities like Khyphosis-spine bent forward or scolosis-spine bent side, due to heavy bags,” he said.
Adding, they see number of students with early slipped disc due to back-breaking bags. “Children skeletons are still growing, so carrying big backpacks could be one of the reasons for increase in stunted growth among children,” he said.
He quoted a report from Mumbai, 58% of students below 10 years are suffering from orthopedic ailments due to heavy bags.
Children lose interest in coming to school with the stress of carrying heavy bags, he said.
“As per the guidelines, the recommended weight of a school bag should be less than 10% of the student’s body weight. But most of the students carry bags weighing much more than what they ideally should,” Dr Nisar said.
