Weight of Schoolbags Among Indian Schoolchildren in Pune and Hyderabad.

OBJECTIVE This study was done to determine proportion of children carrying heavy school bags and to compare new guidelines issued by Government of India on school bag weight limit, based on class of the child with previous guidelines based on child's weight. METHODS A cross-sectional study was done among students of schools from two cities of India - Pune and Hyderabad. Weight of school bag of 1321 children was measured and classified as 'heavy' or 'normal' based on existing as well as new guidelines. Agreement between two guidelines was also calculated. RESULTS In our study, 722 (77.2%) out of 935 students from class 1-10 were found to be carrying 'heavy' school bags. Kappa coefficient for agreement between two guidelines was 0.55 (0.47,0.60) indicating moderately strong agreement. CONCLUSIONS Large proportion of school children are carrying school bags with weight beyond permissible limits. There is a need for all stake holders to take steps to reduce weight of school bags.