The Harvey Nicks health alert: Avoid heavy bags!

WITH the summer sales in full swing, you would have thought the department stores would be desperate to encourage us to shop till we drop.

But one luxury chain has taken a rather different approach – warning customers that carrying too many shopping bags could be a health risk.

Harvey Nichols has teamed up with TV doctor Rosemary Leonard to tell shoppers they risk pulled muscles, neck strains – even fainting – if they don’t balance their bags correctly or overload themselves with too many bargains.

And the store is very precise in its medical advice, telling customers that when they have enough bags to stretch 11in along their arms, they should stop shopping. The store has even issued arm bands to help them mark the cut-off point. Meanwhile bargain- hunters intent on a massive shopping spree are advised to order online so they can have t he bags delivered straight to their front door.

Dr Leonard, who is BBC Breakfast’s resident doctor and a parttime GP, said: ‘It might sound silly but carrying numerous bags can put untold physical pressure on a shopper’s body.

‘Restriction of blood flow is common, which means people can experience tingling of the fingers and in more extreme cases numbness and even fainting. I often refer to this condition as “high bag pressure”. Other symptoms an overburdened shopper could suffer include pulled muscles plus neck and wrist strain. ‘As a GP I see more cases of shopping-related stress injuries when the economy is booming.

‘The best thing to do on a spree is to carry a few bags on each arm to balance the load.’

A spokesman for Harvey Nichols , whose sales started this week, said:

‘Let delivery drivers take strain’

‘It’s not in our interests to have customers shop until they drop.

‘ For those wanting to make multiple purchases and are concerned about carrying a heavy load we would advise using our website and let our delivery drivers take the strain.’

And it’s not just bulging shopping bags that are causing concern among doctors. Previously the British Osteopathic Association revealed that four in ten women have s uff ered discomfort in their neck, back or shoulders from regularly carrying a heavy handbag.

Apparently it hasn’t put off savvy shoppers. Research has revealed how women walk up to 154 miles a year hunting for bargains – the equivalent of trekking from London to Nottingham.

The Debenhams poll of 2,000 women carried out in 2010 revealed the average woman covers 2.96 miles on a shopping trip and spends around 2.5 hours browsing in stores every week.

In contrast, men spend an average 50 minutes and cover just 1.5 miles per week.

Women also burn around five calories for every minute spent shopping – almost 48,000 per year – according to a separate poll.