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Women risking injury by carrying up to an extra stone.... in their handbags
New research has found that women can be carrying around handbags that are up to a stone in weight, which could lead to serious health problems.
'Bagatidy' and Sammy Margo, one of the country's leading physiotherapists, commissioned research during January to ascertain just how heavy a woman's handbag is.
"With the trend for super size bags and with women now leading busy prt-a-porter lifestyles where we carry our whole lives in our handbags, we were interested to see just how heavy those bags were and also what effect it has on the body," said Francine Cohen of Bagatidy , a company that retails an original handbag organiser.
Sammy Margo, a chartered physiotherapist, was concerned that women could be causing themselves severe physical problems.
"Over a two week period we weighed the handbags of all types of women. On average we found that most women's bags weigh around half a stone but some of them topped a stone." said Sammy.
"So someone like Posh or Cheryl Cole who probably weigh about 7 stone could be carrying around nearly 15% of their body weight! Even at half a stone that's the equivalent of carrying around 3 bags of sugar."
Sammy warned that all of this can have a serious effect on your body.
"Basically you are putting an asymmetrical strain on one side of your body by carrying or wearing on your shoulder an excess weight for a long period of time.
"Heavy bags upset the equilibrium of the spine. Essentially you are forcing your body to walk around almost lopsidedly.
"This means you are increasing the chances of having repeated back, arm, neck and shoulder pain and tension headaches with the constant strain.
"You are definitely increasing the possibility of developing a chronic lower back problem."
Sammy recommended the following five ways to make your bag lighter and lessen the pain of being on trend.
1. Sit down with your bag and go through it the same way you would your wardrobe – be ruthless. Do you really need to carry around that huge tin of hairspray?
2. Buy mini versions of cosmetics and toiletries – many High Street chemists now sell pocket sized products.
3. Plan in advance what you are going to need to take with you on a particular outing and only take what you need for that day. Do you have to take your PDA home with you every night? Can you leave it at the office?
4.Try to go for handbags with wider straps that help balance the weight and give more support. Also try to swap which side you carry your handbag.
5. Be organised in your bag. Use an in-bag organiser like 'Bagatidy' which means you can see exactly what you've got in your bag and stops the tendency to overload your bag.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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