Schoolbag

The burden of the school bag
Community Physician Dr. Kapila Jayaratne who conducted Asia’s first research on bags that schoolchildren carry, talks to Kumudini Hettiarachchi
Bent double with a heavy burden on their backs, thousands of smartly-clad children will make their way to schools across the country, as the new academic year begins on Tuesday.
For most, their uniforms, shoes, socks, water bottles and bags will be brand new, with even the humblest of parents borrowing money to buy their children the necessities for the school year.
But are the bags that these children will carry to school, more of a health hazard than a boon?

Dr. Kapila Jayaratne
This is what Consultant Community Physician Dr. Kapila Jayaratne who was one-time the School Medical Officer of Narahenpita set out to find out having heard of the "ergonomics concept" that was becoming popular in the western world.
Focusing his attention on "ergonomics in the school education environment" which has many prongs, Dr. Jayaratne picked out school bags as the first point of entry in his research as many were the complaints he had heard about them. This was in 2006-07.
"This research was a first not only in Sri Lanka but also in Asia," says Dr. Jayaratne who got the support of the International Ergonomic Association and underwent a three-week training in the Netherlands before embarking on the research.
His research was also fuelled by the fact that when considering the disease burden in the out-patient departments of the government hospitals in the country, a majority of those who sought treatment were adults with musculoskeletal pain. A quantum of the health budget is being spent on managing such patients.
"There was a need to focus on the schooling generation because there is scientific evidence that musculoskeletal pain in childhood continues into adulthood," he says. Explaining the basic concept of ergonomics as modifying the environment according to what the human body requires, he says...