Abstract
Background: Obesity is major risk factor for many diseases within society and represents extensive loads for the feet which lead to various foot disorders and deformities. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of obesity as represented by percent body fat (PBF) on foot morphology. Methods: The study sample included 139 Czech women aged 48-69 years. The women were divided into two groups by PBF: non-obese women (NOW) (n = 66; PBF 35%). Measurements included % PBF and width, length and angle dimensions of foot. The Chippaux-Smirak index (CSI) was calculated for each foot. Results: We found significant differences between OW and NOW in these parameters: direct forefoot width (sin. p = .02, rpb = .20), direct heel width (sin. p = .01, rpb = .22; dex. p < .01, rpb = .22), hallux angle (sin. p = .01, rpb = .25) and CSI (sin. p < .01, rpb = .26; dex. p < .01, rpb = .27). The results showed that the mean values of the heel width and CSI were significantly higher in OW on both feet, the mean values of forefoot width only on the left foot. Conclusions: Results proved that obesity impacts all parts of the foot (heel, longitudinal foot arch, forefoot). Despite significant differences of the CSI between NOW and OW, the number of subjects with flat feet was in both groups negligible.
Highlights
Obesity and being overweight are major risk factors for many chronic diseases
On the left foot there was a significant difference between the and obese women (OW) (2.9°, p = .01, rpb = .25) (Table 2)
Similar was the situation of the forefoot width; the difference between the and the OW was 22 mm (p = .02, rpb = .20)
Summary
Obesity and being overweight are major risk factors for many chronic diseases. The number of overweight and obese people rose to 2.1 billion in 2013, according to a major new analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013, published in The Lancet (Ng et al, 2014). Obesity is major risk factor for many diseases within society and represents extensive loads for the feet which lead to various foot disorders and deformities. Results: We found significant differences between OW and in these parameters: direct forefoot width P = .02, rpb = .20), direct heel width The results showed that the mean values of the heel width and CSI were significantly higher in OW on both feet, the mean values of forefoot width only on the left foot. Despite significant differences of the CSI between and OW, the number of subjects with flat feet was in both groups negligible
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