Objectives: To identify the way school material is carried and the weight of the material carried, and to compare these findings for 2nd, 5th and 9th graders. METHODS: This study evaluated 58 students from a randomly selected school in Dois Irmãos, a city in southern Brazil, using anthropometric variables and a questionnaire to identify what schoolchildren used to carry school material and the way it was carried. School material was weighed over a five-day period. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the responses to the questionnaires. Mean weight of the school material, normalized by body weight, was analyzed using one-way ANOVA and the Bonferroni post hoc test (α=0.05). RESULTS: Second, 5th and 9th graders carried their own material using a backpack with two straps (60.0%, 77.3%, and 85.5%, p<0.05) over their shoulders (60.0%, 77.3%, and 81.0%, p<0.05), and mean rate of schoolbag weight to body weight was 7.2%±2.3, 8.8%±3.0, and 5.9%±1.7. The only significant difference (p<0.05) was between 5th and 9th graders. CONCLUSION: Students in the 2nd, 5th and 9th grades prefer to carry their school material using a backpack with two straps symmetrically placed over the shoulders. Regardless of school grade, the backpack weight was less than 10% of body weight, and 5th graders carried the heaviest relative loads.
posture; teaching; health promoting; weight-bearing
