Effects of Load-carrying on Children in a Rural Community

Abstract

Forty one subjects were randomly chosen from an original study group of 200 healthy children whose heights and weights had been monitored every four weeks for two years. All the subjects had authentic recorded dates of birth and were aged between five and seven years at the time of the present study. The 41 subjects were randomly divided into a study group of load-carriers and a control group of non-load carriers. They were boarded and fed thrice a day for two weeks. Height measurements were taken at 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily, using standard equipment and call-out technique. The study sub- jects carried a load on the head for one hour round a school premises between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. daily, while the controls did not carry any load. Reductions in height measurements during the day and increases in height measurements over- night, were observed in both the load-carrying subjects and in the controls. While non-load-carriers fully recovered their heights during the night, load-carriers not only lost more in height measurement, but also failed to recover fully. The difference between the two groups of subjects was significant (P<0.001).