No really, what’s in your backpack?
it’s time to lighten the load
Back to school, back to work, back to backpacks. Science shows that kids shouldn’t carry more than 10% of their body weight on their back. As many of us active transportation fans head back to the office, could this advice benefit adults too? Time for a weigh in…
It’s fall and I live right around the corner from a public school.
On my walk to work (or fake walk to work on remote days), I see a parade of tiny humans headed off on the most exciting adventure of their little lives, burdened with backpacks almost as big as they are.
They look like turtles about to capsize. So much weight on such small shoulders can’t be good.
Turns out, science agrees.
Studies published in Science Daily and IOS Press looked at schoolchildren carrying backpacks weighing 10%, 15% and 20% of their body weight.
At 10% kids could stand, walk and move normally with good posture. Considering the average Canadian 9-year-old weighs between 50 and 95 pounds, this means a backpack no heavier than 5–10 pounds.
When researchers increased loads to 15% and 20% of body weight, kids poked their heads forward almost at once, increasing pressure on the neck and cervical spine. After walking for just six minutes, over 50% of study subjects reported discomfort and pain.
You can start to imagine the effect of a full day schlepping a backpack around for a lot longer than six minutes.
Compound this by 10 years of primary and elementary school, another three years of high school, another two to five years of college, university or grad school and, if you’re an active transportation fan like me, add another 40 years of walking to work.
That’s potential for a whole lot of bad posture.
Which led me to question: just how much am I carrying in my own backpack? As I started the trek back to my post-COViD office, it was time to find out.
My sturdy yet fashionable commuter knapsack holds a ton: laptop, phone, timeblock planner, files, workout clothes, runners, a change of shoes, water bottle, and of course, lunch and snacks. Oh, and sometimes an umbrella or extra sweater. Fully packed it weighs in at about 23 pounds.
Yikes.
So, I decided to trust the science — even though the research focuses on kids — and lighten my load. First step: switch to a proper internal frame hiking knapsack equipped with chest and waist straps to distribute the weight evenly. Next, carry only the essentials: laptop, phone, planner, work files. I ended up at 13.5 pounds, closer to 10% of my body weight.
It’s early days in this experiment but I’m already feeling some expected, and unexpected, benefits. I’m walking tall for sure. No pain in my shoulders and neck by the time I reach the office, about a 35-minute walk. I’ve decided to leave workout clothes, runners and a change of shoes there. Lunch, I’ll need to figure out.
And the unexpected benefits?
Turns out a lighter pack is a good metaphor for life: a daily reminder to take on less, worry less. To move with more ease, more joy. And really, isn’t that what walking — and life — is all about?
The humble, hardworking backpack, or knapsack as we say in Canada, has been around for centuries.
The first evidence of humans carrying stuff on their back was arguably Ötzi the Iceman circa 3,300 BC. His incredibly preserved remains uncovered in Austria in 1991 included a contraption that looked a lot like a framed backpack: a U-shaped hazel rod and wooden board tied together with string to support a hide bag.
Although the construction and fashion quotient has evolved since Ötzi wandered the Alps, the general concept remains the same: stuff container-like bag close to bursting, don shoulder straps (just one if you’re a teenager at heart), schlep to school, work, errands, etc.
But thanks to history plus SCIENCE, we’ve learned a few things along the way.
Here are three top tips:
· Keep your pack to 10 to 15% of your body weight. Reduce weight if your head pitches forward or you’re feeling any neck or shoulder pain.
· Use both straps. None of this slinging your pack over one shoulder. And use those chest and waist straps — one of the top tips from chiropractors and physiotherapists alike — especially if you’re carrying a heavier load. They look dorky but your body will thank you.
· Load your pack from heavy to light: heavier stuff in the bottom so it’s supported by your hips, lighter stuff on top.
Bonus tip for you active transport fans out there: be visible as we head into darker winter hours. Here are two good options:
· Clip-on lights, like the ubiquitous frog light probably attached to your bicycle, work well. For next-level safety, try a white flashing light on your chest strap and a red flashing light on the back of your pack. Carabiner clips come in handy here.
· Reflective neon-yellow gear, like a safety vest big enough to fit over you and your pack. See above: still dorky but standing out is the point.
