Students at Victor Scott School participated in a backpack weigh in yesterday.

Occupational therapists Tin?e Hunt and Holly Sinclair are visiting several schools on the Island this week to make children more aware of what they are carrying and the affects it will have on their backs.

Ms Sinclair said: “We found that the boys bags were heavier than the girls bags. The boys tended to be quite macho saying that they are men and they can carry it.”

One nine-year-old girl who told her friends, “I'm heavy,” weighed in at 110 pounds, but her bag was only ten percent of her body weight.

Ms Hunt said: “The bag must weigh less than 15 percent of the child's body weight in order that it is not dangerous for their backs.”

An eight-year-old boy had the highest percentage coming in with 22 percent. He said: “Today I have football practice and PE (physical education).”

His classmate bag was 18 percent of his body weight. He said he also had PE and football as well as tap dance lessons after school.

Fifteen percent is over the safety limit for young growing backs.

Victor Scott principal, Dr. Gina Tucker said: “I think it is a great idea. We grow up so often not knowing what we are doing to our backs by putting inappropriate weight on our shoulders during the early years.

The Bermuda Occupational Therapist Association (BOTA) is asking parents to select a backpack with several compartments for better weight distribution, making sure that the bag is off the shoulders and resting on the hips, and for children to use both straps and chest and hip belts and pack heavier items close to the body.

President of BOTA, Jill Davidson said: “Across the Island we are seeing more children with stooped shoulders, sore necks and aching backs from carrying heavy and poorly fitted backpacks. Occupational Therapists are committed to providing education to parents, teachers and students to combat the backpack beast. This is a growing health issue and we can't afford to put our children at risk for a lifetime of problems.”