20/20: Lightening Kids' Backpacks

Oct. 27 -- Schoolchildren have a load on their minds — and huge loads on their backs.

With backpacks stuffed to the max, many kids look like they’re going off to an expedition to the Andes instead of a day at school.

Experts say student backpacks should not exceed 15 percent of their bodyweight, but many of them do. Now, studies indicate the excess bulk may be leading to increased back pain among children. “The greater the weight they carried, the greater the forward lean that they had,” says David Pascoe, an exercise physiologist at Auburn University. “Oftentimes, an excessive forward lean has been related to back problems,” he adds.

And the medical community seems to agree with these findings. Seventy-one percent of orthopedic surgeons surveyed last year said backpacks are a clinical problem for children. It’s a serious enough problem that last year, the government reported 3,000 school-aged kids went to hospital emergency rooms due to backpack related injuries.

“One of the more common symptoms that has been reported with backpacks is what we call ‘rucksack palsy,’” says Pascoe. “This is when pressure put on the nerve in the shoulder actually causes numbness in the hands… muscle wasting and even some serious nerve damage.”

Bigger Books, More StuffSo why are today’s students lugging around so much weight? For starters, their books are heavier. A textbook from 40 years ago, for example, weighed less than 2 pounds. Today’s books weigh in at about 5 pounds each. Many kids also carry their materials with them all day since a lot of schools have removed lockers for security reasons.Finally, there’s also a lot more than can end up in today’s backpacks, since they come with additional places to stash stuff including pockets for cell phones, pouches for CDs and water bottle holders.