Children are returning for the start of a new scholastic year, many secondary and primary children started last week and this week it is the turn of young children, many starting school for the first time.
Because of this, the Association of Family Doctors (APFD) has said in a statement that it would like to remind the parents, school leaders and the Department of Education that according to international standards, school bags should not weigh more than 10 % of the weight of the child.
However, this does not mean that overweight children should bear more weight, the Association said.
The Association also called on the Department of Health Promotion to be proactive in this cause, by suggesting ways in which this can be achieved, for example by providing lockers for the children, and by the better setting out of timetables are better set.
The Association of Private Family Doctors is a self selected group of Maltese Family Doctors working exclusively in private practice.