The working positions of schoolchildren

The survey described was carried out at a school in a Danish provincial town. During a one-week period, teachers recorded the various working positions of the schoolchildren. The positions recorded were those intended by the teachers. The average percentage of time allocated to physically active functions was generally acceptable. However, on average four of the classes were seated for more than 60 min without breaks, which is found to be inexpedient, medically as well as pedagogically. The time spent sitting is roughly distributed equally between backward-learning and forward-leaning positions: a fact to be remembered when designing school furniture for the future.