Black Culture Center weighs backpacks, offers tips to reduce pain

As part of Black History Month, the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center organized a health event called “Backpack Attack” to raise backpack safety awareness.

On Thursday, graduate assistant Muhammad Saahir and freshmen volunteers Litney Gray and Isaiah Sloss invited students passing by the Indiana Memorial Union Lit Desk to weigh their backpacks or purses in exchange for fun-size candy and tips on how much they should be carrying.

“We want to make people conscious of how much they’re carrying,” Gray said.

Sloss used a digital scale that hooked onto the straps of a backpack or purse to weigh the bags. Once students found out their bag’s weight, the volunteers recorded the information. If it was too much, Sloss suggested ways they could lighten their load. 

“It’s very simple, but it can have a huge impact,” Saahir said.

Students should avoid carrying more than 10 to 15 percent of their body weight in their backpack or purse, and no one should ever carry more than 25 pounds on a daily basis.

The heaviest backpack they weighed during the afternoon was 22 pounds, Sloss said.

However, he said they weighed one girl who was about 100 pounds and carried a 17-pound backpack. 

“A lot of students carry too much, and it can affect their health in their near and distant future,” Saahir said. 

Carrying a heavy backpack can cause chronic shoulder, neck and back pain, muscle spasms and posture deterioration, according to research published in the Journal of Pediatric Orthopedics.

This event was part of NMBCC’s Blacktastic Week: A Focus on Health and Wellness.

Throughout the week there have been events to raise awareness about eating healthy and exercising. Blacktastic Week is a part of a set of themed weeks during February to promote academics and individual confidence while celebrating Black History Month.  

The NMBCC decided to coordinate Backpack Attack as its health event because it applies to the entire student population on campus.

“Diabetes, cancer, they’re prone to certain populations,” Saahir said. “But everyone on a college campus carries a backpack or a purse. This is for everyone.”


HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU CARRY?
Body weight (in pounds) versus maximum backpack weight (in pounds)
75-100        15
100-125        18
125-150        20
150-200        25