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BOOKS AND BACKS
This middle aged editor had the advantage, in childhood, of a small school, a fixed classroom and his own desk. His—and I assume some of your—offspring are more likely to trudge around a megasite with a heavy sports bag and perhaps the option of an easily invaded locker.
Two studies published this month concentrate on a potentially neglected health problem. A group from Texas found 188 primary (elementary) school children whose backpacks exceeded 10% of their body weight (with one masochist or future special forces recruit carting around 37.4%). Most parents had no idea what their child was carrying around and only seven had ever troubled to weigh the backpack. The authors recommend a targeted prevention programme on backpack safety and quote a mnemonic for parents wishing to carry it out.
However, could they be barking up the wrong cactus? In north west England, researchers identified children aged 11–14 with low back pain (LBP). Prevalence was 23.9%, highest …
