How do women from other countries carry so much weight on their heads?

Question

The schoo project im doing requires coming up with a solution to help people carry weight that they arent supposed to carry. Average man is supposed to carry 15% of their weight, but many people carry more and backpacks for school kids also cannot hold a lot. Im doing some research and found African woman can hold 70% of their weight on their heads, but how do they do it?

Answer 1

One reason for the African woman's ability to bear loads effortlessly seems to be her posture. As a girl, she learns to stand so straight that her pelvis and vertebrae line up like a well stacked pile of blocks.

Another reason may lie in her gait. At the beginning of most persons' strides the head bobs up and the body slows; then as the foot moves forward, the head dips and the body accelerates. This bobbing and dipping and accelerating and decelerating requires a lot of effort. But African women put all their energy into moving forward. The vertical motion is absorbed in the bones and soft tissue. Hips bob less than ankles; shoulders bob less than hips; and the head (with its burden) bobs not at all. Thus, while most people bounce along like wagons on egg- shaped wheels, African women move like wagons on round wheels.

I tried putting in some references for you of interesting articles but everytime I do I get ERROR 999!!
Try typing a sentence from above in google to find it. There was also another interesting paper in Nature magazine..

Answer 2

I think they just start at a very early age and their neck muscles get really developed because they're used to it. Also, some African tribes have those gold rings that make women's necks longer- maybe they act as a stabilizer for all the weight.

Answer 3

This is soley in my opinion -- not that I did any research but I am assuming from my observation and personal knowledge that they training from young ages on how to carry things on their heads. In order to carry such items takes training as well as training and strengthing of the neck , back and shoulder muscles.