Musculoskeletal Pain and its Association with School Bag Weight and Diet Intake: A Cross-Sectional Study among School-Going Adolescents in Delhi

Abstract

Background: Prevalence of musculoskeletal pain is increasing in adolescent school students. This study
conducted to assess the role of heavy bag packs and faulty dietary habits in the causation of musculoskeletal
pain.
Methods: The study was conducted in school going 1600 adolescent school students of Delhi, India from
April 2018 to March 2019. The demographic profile, symptoms of pain in neck, shoulder and back was
recorded through a validated questionnaire and the simplified dietary gap assessment tool was applied to
assess the dietary habits. The weight of the school bag was measured. The prevalence of musculoskeletal
pain was 56.8% among adolescent school students. The musculoskeletal pain was significantly higher in
those students who were carrying bag weight 10-15% of their body weight and was two times higher than
those students who were carrying bag weight less than 10% of their body weight. Students having dietary
gap score of less than 5 out of 10 were more prevalent to get musculoskeletal pain than those having dietary
score more than 8.
Conclusions: Carrying of heavy school bag weight and gap in the diet among the school going adolescents
can lead to musculoskeletal pain