Experts interviewed: Yang Xiaosheng, deputy chief physician of the Spinal Surgery Department (Orthopedics No. 1) of Aviation General Hospital, Global Times Health Client Reporter Dong Changxi is about to start school, and many parents have begun to prepare stationery for their ch

"Hygienic Requirements for Schoolbags for Primary and Secondary School Students"

Experts interviewed: Yang Xiaosheng, deputy chief physician of the Spinal Surgery Department (Orthopedics 1) of Aviation General Hospital

Global Times Health Client Reporter Dong Changxi

School is about to start, and many parents have begun to prepare stationery for their children for the new semester. In recent years, the schoolbag market has also begun to refurbish. Various functional schoolbags with labels such as "ergonomic" and "spine protection" have become popular, and the price is much more expensive than ordinary schoolbags. Open an e-commerce platform and search for "spine protection school bag". A wide variety of products pop up, with prices ranging from 150 to 800 yuan.

Not only in our country, "spine-protecting schoolbags" are also very popular abroad. Germany's Tagesspiegel recently published an article stating that preparation for elementary school entrance in Germany has become a show of family assets, with some schoolbags costing hundreds of euros. According to the Global Times' special correspondent in Germany, a schoolbag store in the center of Berlin has at least 250 schoolbags from 10 brands, most of which cost more than 220 euros (approximately RMB 1,741). One of them is a spine-protecting school bag priced at 399 euros (approximately RMB 3,157), which includes an inner bag, clothing bag, pencil case, pencil case and screen charging cable, and provides a 4-year warranty.

One of the reasons why these school bags are so popular is the "spine protection function". Is a spine-protecting schoolbag really effective or is it an "IQ tax"? Yang Xiaosheng, deputy chief physician of the Spinal Surgery Department (Orthopedics 1) of the Aviation General Hospital, said in an interview with a reporter from the Global Times Health Client: "From the perspective of protecting the spine, the most important thing is the weight of the schoolbag. The functions are only auxiliary, and parents are advised to choose rationally. "

According to the "Hygienic Requirements for School Bags for Primary and Secondary School Students" issued by the National Health Commission in 2018, the weight of the school bag should not exceed 10% of the child's weight; the school bag should be consistent with the child's height. Matching, the area of ​​the schoolbag attached to the child's back should not exceed 3/4 of the back area; it is best to buy a backpack for the child, and the back and bottom of the schoolbag should have support functions; the front and sides of the schoolbag should be equipped with at least 20 mm wide reflective material , mainly serves as a warning to vehicle drivers and reduces the risk of traffic accidents. It can be seen that the concept and efficacy of spine-protecting schoolbags are not clearly defined and affirmed.

"Hygienic Requirements for Schoolbags for Primary and Secondary School Students"

Yang Xiaosheng said that the reason why everyone pays so much attention to the issue of "spine protection" has a lot to do with the increasing incidence of scoliosis in children in recent years. According to statistics, the incidence rate of scoliosis among primary and secondary school students in my country is 1% to 3%. The number of scoliosis cases has exceeded 5 million, and is increasing at a rate of about 300,000 per year. It has become the third largest problem affecting the health of children in my country after obesity and myopia. "crisis". Scoliosis not only causes deformity in the appearance of the spine, but also causes children to be ridiculed and ostracized by the outside world due to poor posture since childhood, causing psychological problems and lack of self-confidence, which may affect their learning, growth and social relationships.

Yang Xiaosheng said that the cause of scoliosis cannot be entirely blamed on the schoolbag head. Long-term bad posture, genetics, exercise, diet, etc. will all affect the health of the spine. It seems that school bags can also affect the spine, but this effect is extremely limited because of its short time, and can be eliminated after putting down the school bag. Therefore, preventing or correcting scoliosis requires a scientific approach. Parents do not need to be overly anxious about purchasing products such as "ergonomic" and "spine-protecting" school bags and blindly follow the trend. Just choose a lightweight backpack. Children should maintain a good sitting posture when studying and perform appropriate physical exercises in their spare time, which will be more helpful in preventing and correcting scoliosis.

Yang Xiaosheng reminded that parents should encourage their children to exercise more to help enhance muscle strength and bone toughness.When parents find that their children have postural abnormalities, such as high and low shoulders, pelvic tilt, and improper standing and sitting postures, they are recommended to go to a scoliosis specialist or orthopedic clinic for screening and seek help from a professional doctor.▲

Editor-in-chief: Xu Menglian

Editor-in-chief: Zhang Mian