signs have basically been unaltered for years.While manufacturing and inventory costs are important concerns, there are also costs involved in products that do not reflect designs based on properly selected anthropometric data and ergonomics. 266 PARCELLS ET AL. JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT HEALTH Vol. 24, No. 4 Without proper design, sitting will require greater muscular force and control to maintain stability and equilibrium. This, in turn, results in greater fatigue
and discomfort and is likely to lead to poor postural habits as well as neck or back complaints. Most important for schoolchildren, musculoskeletal stress resulting from efforts to maintain stability and comfort of seating may make for a fidgety individual, a condition not conducive to focused learning. Health care providers can be instrumental in focusing attention on environmental influences that impact health.
Good posture facilitates lung expansion and reduces
organ crowding and strain on soft bones, tendons,
and muscles (10). While schools have implemented
health education programs (20) in an effort to introduce young people to health-promoting and healthprotecting behaviors, proper seating rarely gets the
attention it deserves