Background: Excessive school bag weight is a barrier to active transport to school (ATS).This study examined parents’ and adolescents’ perceptions of school bag weights and actual school bag weights for TV Stand adolescents in New Zealand.Methods: Parents (n = 331; 76.
7% women) completed a survey.Adolescents (n = 682; age 15.1 ± 1.
4 years; 57.3% boys) completed a survey, underwent anthropometry, and had their school bags weighed.Results: Overall, 68.
3% of parents perceived that adolescents’ school bags were too heavy to carry to school.This parental perception differed by adolescents’ mode of transport to school (active/motorized/combined: 35.1%/78.
4%/68.8%, p < 0.001).
Adolescents perceived that their school bags were too heavy to carry to walk (57.8%) or cycle (65.8%) to school.
Adolescent perceptions differed by mode of transport to school (for walking (active/motorized/combined): 30.9%/69.2%/55.
9% agree, Coil Over p < 0.001; for cycling: 47.9%/72.
8%/67.7%; p < 0.001).
Actual school bag weight was, on average, 5.6 ± 2.1 kg.
Relative school bag weight (% of body weight) was higher for boys and underweight adolescents compared to their counterparts.Neither absolute nor relative school bag weight differed by mode of transport to school.Conclusions: School bag weight was perceived a barrier to ATS and was a greater perceived barrier among users of motorized versus active transport.
Perceptions of school bag weights should be considered in future ATS interventions.