Survey finds 75pc of students carry overweight school bags

The issue of heavy school bags has been highlighted again after a survey yesterday found more than 75 per cent of bags were overweight.

Of the 81 school bags weighed in Chai Wan by the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, 76.5 per cent exceeded the acceptable level of 10 per cent of their owners' weight. That level is based on recommendations from the Hong Kong Chiropractors' Association.

That figure was up 22 per cent compared to last year, the DAB said. The average weight of bags weighed yesterday was 4kg, which was higher than the recommended maximum of 3.36kg.

The DAB's Christopher Chung Shu-kun said bags were heavier because the material used for bags and books was thicker.

Primary Five student Sam Au Yeung Hiu-ming, 10, carried a 5.5kg bag to school. He said that his shoulders hurt sometimes and that his mother had blamed his heavy bag for his hunched posture. 'I pack my bag every day and it is always heavy,' Sam said. 'I use backpacks which are supposed to protect the spine, but my back is still curved.'

He said his school did not provide lockers, so he needed to carry everything back and forth every day.

Man Wai-hang, 10, had the heaviest school bag yesterday. His 6kg bag contained about 10 books, two bottles of water and two pencil cases. He said he needed to carry the bag up to his fifth-floor classroom every day, adding: 'I'm used to that already.'