The CECOVA advised that backpacks “do not exceed 15% of the weight of the student” and breakfast good to “guarantee optimal performance”

Valencia, 2011-September the Council of nursing of the Comunitat Valenciana (CECOVA), the Spanish scientific society of nursing school (SCE3) and the colleges of nursing in Valencia, Castellón and Alicante recommended today, before the next start of the school year, which fits the weight of the backpacks to the physical characteristics of the students to avoid the appearance of muscle injury by overload which can lead to degenerative diseases or crónicas adult ”. The weight of the backpacks should not exceed 15% of the student body weight and volume should not be larger than the back ”.

The President of the SCE3 and coordinator of work group of nurses in health school (ENSE) of the CECOVA in Alicante, sea Ortiz sailing, pointed out that the weight of the backpacks to adapted to the age and size of the child ” and whereas, therefore, ” is inadvisable to use the same backpacks for several years ”. Otherwise, Ortiz noted that minors can suffer from muscular problems or overloading ” and recalled that there are 60 per cent of schoolchildren has at some point because of back pain, among other factors, to the excessive weight of the backpacks ”.

In this regard, the President of the SCE3 recalled that more than half of school children aged between 13 and 15 suffer back problems. Addition, more than 40% of children under 11 years are also this type of pathology. Frequently the vertebral column in school age alterations are 24.9 per cent of the cases shortening of muscles isquiotibial (back of the thigh); ahead of the lordosis (increase of lumbar curvature), which accounted for 18.7%, and the presence of a scoliosis (9.3%).

The main causes of these disorders are inappropriate in the classroom furniture using it interchangeably children of different ages; excessive burden of school backpacks; and also by a high sedentary lifestyle and the paucity of practice of sports activities has increased in children in recent years by the use of television and video game consoles.

The recommendations of the CECOVA collected that backpacks should not exceed under any circumstances a higher weight to 10 or 15% of their body weight, so that children not should carry in their backpacks school material above that amount. In addition, is advisable to have strips that can fasten on the abdomen or chest so that more muscle groups are used to carry it ”. In addition, the materials should be placed correctly in the upper part of the back ” and is advisable that the backpacks are cushioned and placed on both shoulders, and not only one, and supported in the dorsal area, with not overly long straps ”.

Breakfast

In the same way, also included a number of tips to cope with energy back to the school, such as take a good breakfast for excellent school performance ”, for 8% of school children attend the school without having breakfast and only 26% performs a full breakfast. In this regard, Ortiz stressed that children who go to school without breakfast have a decrease of their physical ability, its resistance to the effort, your muscle strength and their learning capacities, which has resulted in a lower concentration and academic performance ”.

This fact also strikes, he said, that increasingly there are more cases of obesity in children taking a little breakfast or do not have ”. In the Comunitat Valenciana, 13,49% of children between 2 and 17 years presents overweight and 10.76% suffer from obesity, before which the nurse warned that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, it needs to provide 25% of daily calorie needs and must be composed of a dairycereals in any of its forms (bread, cookies, or breakfast cereals) and fruit ”.

Thus, to reduce these prevalences, Ortiz advised decrease intake of fats and simple sugars, saturated, contained mainly in the pastry, the snacks ” and soft drinks, following the recommendations of the Ministry on food in schools; and will resume healthy habits as the intake of the traditional sandwich accompanied by water and fruit for snack and lunch, of course, always adjusting the ration at the age of the school ”.
Finally, the President of the SCE3 recommended implementation underway school nursing service in all schools because increasingly places more students with chronic health problems and allergies that require care and administration of medication that are not currently receiving ” andon the other hand, recalled that the school nurses also encourage healthy habits of life through programs of education for health, such as healthy eating, hygiene and correct ergonomics, prevention of disorders of eating behavior, consumption and abuse of drugs or problems related to sexuality, among others ”.

Ortiz also noted that the nursing school is not a profile yet to develop, because it is already institutionalized in some private schools and foreign nature of our country, in specific public schools for special education and even in autonomous regions like MadridCastile – La Mancha or Castile – León, where there are school nurses in regular schools where integrated children with health problems ”.

Our priority objectives are to publicize the work developed by the school nurse, and so encourage you to visit the website www.sce3.com where is the professional profile of the school nurse and get in a medium-term the school nursing is introduced gradually, in the same way in all the autonomous communitiesin other words, implement the nursing school in all specific schools of special education and regular schools where integrated children with health problems ”, said Ortiz.