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Despite the common wisdom that women of Africa find it well-situated to carry items on their heads , new research suggests doing so is actually a pain in the neck and no more effective than other methods .
seemingly the woman do so mostly out of necessity , when they might necessitate their arms to help locomote over hard terrain .
African women carrying goods on their head.
The determination of scientist in Scotland and South Africa contradict research conducted about 25 eld ago that suggest the technique of resting item atop the head was significantly more efficient than carrying them by hand or in a backpack , and that African women could effortlessly sway loads up to a fifth part of their own body weight in such a mode . One account was that part of the energy that went into lifting the load could be converted into energy used for traveling .
" As a sport scientist living in Botswana for eight year , I was intrigue by the ease with which the woman seemed to carry very heavy load such as firewood and water on their head , " recalled Ray Lloyd at the University of Abertay Dundee .
Lloyd note the original cogitation of head - carrying were establish on four to six cleaning lady , " so I wanted to confirm this with a large group . However , my results suggest quite the opposite — that point - loading is no more effective than other method , and isvery painfulfor the woman . "
Working in laboratories at South Africa ’s Cape Peninsula University of Technology , Lloyd lead a team of scientists analyzing 24 woman from the Xhosa multitude as they sway loads in different direction . These included 13 women with more than 10 long time of brain - post experience and 11 with no experience at all , who were studied as they walk on salt mine either with no loads , laden on their backs , or loads on their heads .
Also taking part in the experiments were nine British women from the British Territorial Army with lots of experience stock weight in backpacks but no experience with mind - carrying .
None of the women found carrying item on their head any wanton — they consumed roughly the same amount of oxygen ( an index of expended movement ) as when they carried consignment on their back . heading - carrying also did not get light with practice . " Previous experience of head - carrying did not seem to offer any benefit , and some woman with no experience were the most efficient at head - carry , " Lloyd order .
" It also did n’t seem to protect againstpain and uncomfortableness , " he added . " We interviewed the women , and all the experienced head - loaders reported that cervix infliction was a grown trouble for them . They report have to give cervix massages to their mothers and grandmothers whenever they returned from fetch pee . "
" All the women agreed that they would opt an alternative method of transporting essential item such as body of water and firewood , " Lloyd concluded . He said he and his colleagues are now inquire whether head - bear leads tolong - terminus legal injury of the neck .
These findings could leave to more - effective room of manage weight . For illustration , organisation that allow a more natural movement of the trunk — that is , ones that counterbalance weight around the luggage compartment — seem more effective than ones that tighten the movement of the trunk frontward and feebleminded , as is usually the eccentric with both backpacks and question - carrying .
" Can the fore - aft apparent motion of the trunk be optimized , and can this be designed into commercially usable systems ? " Lloyd say to LiveScience .
The scientists detailed their findings in the July issue of the journal Applied Ergonomics and in the February issue of the European Journal of Applied Physiology .
