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CNN Live Saturday
Overloaded Backpacks Can Cause Injury To Students
Aired August 30, 2003 - 18:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: Backpacks jammed with bundles of books can also be a risk to school kids. They can lead to poor posture and even serious injury. Exercise scientist Andy Doyle is here with some backpack safety tips, along with his son, Patrick, who is seven and a half years old and not really very shy, but he probably will be now.
Let's begin with you. What is it, we have two backpacks here, give us a sense as to what the proper weight would be for somebody who is Patrick's age, seven and a half years old, and his weight.
ANDY DOYLE, EXERCISE SCIENTIST: OK. Patrick weighs almost 60 pounds, and the general guideline is...
PATRICK DOYLE, ANDY DOYLE'S SON: Fifty-five pounds.
DOYLE: ... about 10 percent of your body weight. So for Patrick, that would mean a backpack that's about 5.5 or six pounds.
So...
KOPPEL: So this one weighs...
DOYLE: Right. This is the pack that Patrick actually takes to school. And in fact, when we found out we were coming on, I weighed it yesterday and found that it was exactly six pounds. So we're right around that 10 percent guideline for him.
KOPPEL: And how should Patrick and other kids, obviously, wear the backpack?
DOYLE: Well, this pack is smaller in volume. And let's have Patrick demonstrate.
P. DOYLE: OK.
DOYLE: Go ahead and stand up here, buddy. And slip this on. It's small in volume, and it has padded shoulder straps, that are also curved, and they want to snug...
KOPPEL: Why don't you spin him around there so that folks can see.
DOYLE: OK.
KOPPEL: Or the other -- well, yes, that's fine. DOYLE: And we want to snug that straps up so that they're a little bit snugged so that the pack rides a little bit higher and a little bit toward the back. When the load is a little bit higher, it does put a little more pressure on their shoulders, which is why it's important to have well-padded shoulder pads.
KOPPEL: OK. And what about -- is it important that he cinch it around his waist, or not necessarily?
DOYLE: Well, this pack does not have a waistband. There are some studies that are just starting to come out now that show that that may be of some benefit to help take some of the weight onto their legs and allow their legs to distribute some more of the load and carry the load.
That can be a little impractical sometimes with the school kids and being able to wrestle packs on and off.
KOPPEL: Sure.
DOYLE: But with heavier loads, I think sometimes the waistband may help.
KOPPEL: You have a very shy child there, Andy.
DOYLE: I do, yes.
KOPPEL: Well, tell us about the Scooby Doo pack.
P. DOYLE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
DOYLE: When Patrick started school, we somewhat naively let him choose his own backpack. And this is the one he picked, I think mostly for the cartoon value. This pack is actually too large for him. In fact, when he walks down the sidewalk, about all you can see is the top of his head and the bottom of his feet.
KOPPEL: I just saw somebody with his little daughter, carrying a backpack just like that.
DOYLE: Yes. And the tendency when the backpack is very large is to overstuff it, is to fill the pack to capacity. And one of the other problems, you can see the straps are not very well padded. And they're also not pulled very tight, so the pack tends to sag too far backwards. And some recent studies have shown that when the pack is too heavy, the children compensate by leaning forward too far and ducking their head down, which may lead to some muscle strains and injury.
KOPPEL: So do you -- I mean, is this the way that Patrick would have packed his backpack before? How do you cut down on what is essential that the kid brings back and forth from school and what is a luxury?
DOYLE: Well, what I did, and I'll try to share some examples here, that students are carrying water bottles, and this is a popular one that students are using this year, and this is almost a full liter of water when you fill it, which weighs about 2.2 pounds. So if Patrick would have filled this and carried it, that's a third of his allowable weight already.
P. DOYLE: That's mine?
DOYLE: He started reading "Harry Potter," the new "Harry Potter" this summer, and this book weighs three pounds.
KOPPEL: Oh, my gosh.
DOYLE: And with a lot of the academic pressures to improve -- improve performance, students are being asked to carry workbooks and textbooks and that type of thing, and so they tend to get overloaded very quickly. And so, with his real backpack, we can demonstrate how we want to be able to cut down on those a little bit.
First of all, using a smaller water bottle that they can refill from a water fountain at school. I want to say, dump it out and clean it at night. And in Patrick's school, rather than send home the entire worksheets, they have...
KOPPEL: Or the workbook.
DOYLE: The entire workbook, right, they tear out and send home the individual worksheets just for that particular day's work.
KOPPEL: Oh, Patrick's got a smiley face.
DOYLE: He did. And so in that case, they only need to carry the work for that particular day, rather than the entire book with them. And then also, we've encouraged him to check out books from the library, smaller chapter books, rather than larger, heavier volumes like this that they can save and read those at home.
KOPPEL: What about for the child who already has stiff shoulders, stiff back? Are there any exercises or things that they can do at home to build up those muscles?
DOYLE: Well, first, I think the most appropriate thing is make sure that you have a backpack that's the appropriate size and is packed correctly. It's unfortunate, but with academic pressures, we've also reduced the access to physical education classes, which can help them build stronger bodies.
But there are things that parents can do, I think, if they can keep them physically active, do activities like climbing the monkey bars, just doing normal kid activities outside, instead of sitting at the computer or sitting in front of the television. Anything they can do to be physically active and get some good activity and exercise.
KOPPEL: And also, do you try to check the backpack before Patrick goes out the door in the morning, that he hasn't snuck in the "Harry Potter" book?
DOYLE: We do, because he typically does take his lunch, so we're usually prepare his lunch in the morning, and packing his backpack and making sure that his homework is in there. So we take a look at the pack before he heads out the door with it.
KOPPEL: Patrick, is there anything that you'd like to say before we go?
No? Well, listen, good luck in school this year.
P. DOYLE: Thank you.
KOPPEL: You're welcome. Thank you for coming in. Andy, thank you for coming in.
DOYLE: You're welcome. Thanks very much.
KOPPEL: Helping us out, hope we can help a lot of kids out there. That's a priceless look. My little brother used to do that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired August 30, 2003 - 18:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN ANCHOR: Backpacks jammed with bundles of books can also be a risk to school kids. They can lead to poor posture and even serious injury. Exercise scientist Andy Doyle is here with some backpack safety tips, along with his son, Patrick, who is seven and a half years old and not really very shy, but he probably will be now.
Let's begin with you. What is it, we have two backpacks here, give us a sense as to what the proper weight would be for somebody who is Patrick's age, seven and a half years old, and his weight.
ANDY DOYLE, EXERCISE SCIENTIST: OK. Patrick weighs almost 60 pounds, and the general guideline is...
PATRICK DOYLE, ANDY DOYLE'S SON: Fifty-five pounds.
DOYLE: ... about 10 percent of your body weight. So for Patrick, that would mean a backpack that's about 5.5 or six pounds.
So...
KOPPEL: So this one weighs...
DOYLE: Right. This is the pack that Patrick actually takes to school. And in fact, when we found out we were coming on, I weighed it yesterday and found that it was exactly six pounds. So we're right around that 10 percent guideline for him.
KOPPEL: And how should Patrick and other kids, obviously, wear the backpack?
DOYLE: Well, this pack is smaller in volume. And let's have Patrick demonstrate.
P. DOYLE: OK.
DOYLE: Go ahead and stand up here, buddy. And slip this on. It's small in volume, and it has padded shoulder straps, that are also curved, and they want to snug...
KOPPEL: Why don't you spin him around there so that folks can see.
DOYLE: OK.
KOPPEL: Or the other -- well, yes, that's fine. DOYLE: And we want to snug that straps up so that they're a little bit snugged so that the pack rides a little bit higher and a little bit toward the back. When the load is a little bit higher, it does put a little more pressure on their shoulders, which is why it's important to have well-padded shoulder pads.
KOPPEL: OK. And what about -- is it important that he cinch it around his waist, or not necessarily?
DOYLE: Well, this pack does not have a waistband. There are some studies that are just starting to come out now that show that that may be of some benefit to help take some of the weight onto their legs and allow their legs to distribute some more of the load and carry the load.
That can be a little impractical sometimes with the school kids and being able to wrestle packs on and off.
KOPPEL: Sure.
DOYLE: But with heavier loads, I think sometimes the waistband may help.
KOPPEL: You have a very shy child there, Andy.
DOYLE: I do, yes.
KOPPEL: Well, tell us about the Scooby Doo pack.
P. DOYLE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
DOYLE: When Patrick started school, we somewhat naively let him choose his own backpack. And this is the one he picked, I think mostly for the cartoon value. This pack is actually too large for him. In fact, when he walks down the sidewalk, about all you can see is the top of his head and the bottom of his feet.
KOPPEL: I just saw somebody with his little daughter, carrying a backpack just like that.
DOYLE: Yes. And the tendency when the backpack is very large is to overstuff it, is to fill the pack to capacity. And one of the other problems, you can see the straps are not very well padded. And they're also not pulled very tight, so the pack tends to sag too far backwards. And some recent studies have shown that when the pack is too heavy, the children compensate by leaning forward too far and ducking their head down, which may lead to some muscle strains and injury.
KOPPEL: So do you -- I mean, is this the way that Patrick would have packed his backpack before? How do you cut down on what is essential that the kid brings back and forth from school and what is a luxury?
DOYLE: Well, what I did, and I'll try to share some examples here, that students are carrying water bottles, and this is a popular one that students are using this year, and this is almost a full liter of water when you fill it, which weighs about 2.2 pounds. So if Patrick would have filled this and carried it, that's a third of his allowable weight already.
P. DOYLE: That's mine?
DOYLE: He started reading "Harry Potter," the new "Harry Potter" this summer, and this book weighs three pounds.
KOPPEL: Oh, my gosh.
DOYLE: And with a lot of the academic pressures to improve -- improve performance, students are being asked to carry workbooks and textbooks and that type of thing, and so they tend to get overloaded very quickly. And so, with his real backpack, we can demonstrate how we want to be able to cut down on those a little bit.
First of all, using a smaller water bottle that they can refill from a water fountain at school. I want to say, dump it out and clean it at night. And in Patrick's school, rather than send home the entire worksheets, they have...
KOPPEL: Or the workbook.
DOYLE: The entire workbook, right, they tear out and send home the individual worksheets just for that particular day's work.
KOPPEL: Oh, Patrick's got a smiley face.
DOYLE: He did. And so in that case, they only need to carry the work for that particular day, rather than the entire book with them. And then also, we've encouraged him to check out books from the library, smaller chapter books, rather than larger, heavier volumes like this that they can save and read those at home.
KOPPEL: What about for the child who already has stiff shoulders, stiff back? Are there any exercises or things that they can do at home to build up those muscles?
DOYLE: Well, first, I think the most appropriate thing is make sure that you have a backpack that's the appropriate size and is packed correctly. It's unfortunate, but with academic pressures, we've also reduced the access to physical education classes, which can help them build stronger bodies.
But there are things that parents can do, I think, if they can keep them physically active, do activities like climbing the monkey bars, just doing normal kid activities outside, instead of sitting at the computer or sitting in front of the television. Anything they can do to be physically active and get some good activity and exercise.
KOPPEL: And also, do you try to check the backpack before Patrick goes out the door in the morning, that he hasn't snuck in the "Harry Potter" book?
DOYLE: We do, because he typically does take his lunch, so we're usually prepare his lunch in the morning, and packing his backpack and making sure that his homework is in there. So we take a look at the pack before he heads out the door with it.
KOPPEL: Patrick, is there anything that you'd like to say before we go?
No? Well, listen, good luck in school this year.
P. DOYLE: Thank you.
KOPPEL: You're welcome. Thank you for coming in. Andy, thank you for coming in.
DOYLE: You're welcome. Thanks very much.
KOPPEL: Helping us out, hope we can help a lot of kids out there. That's a priceless look. My little brother used to do that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
