Size of Our Feet Increases to Accommodate Changes in Body Weight and Height: Study

The feet of British men and women have increased on an average by two sizes in the last four decades, finds a study.
Human body structure and size undergoes changes to adapt to the environment. Recently, experts from the College of Podiatry discovered that our feet widen to support increase in height and body weight. In the 1970s the shoe sizes of British men and women measured 10 and eight, respectively that rose by 2 centimeters on average in recent years. They also found that even children's feet became bigger in the last few years.
"Feet are getting bigger because as a nation, we are becoming taller and we're increasing in weight," said Lorraine Jones, study author and podiatrist from the college of Podiatry, reports the Daily Mail.
"Increased weight gain places more pressure on the feet and means ligaments and joints need to work harder to maintain the foot's structure and keep you mobile. Over time if you gain weight, the feet splay to try and accommodate the increased pressure."
Researchers surveyed 2,000 adults and found 26 percent of men and 41 percent women felt their foot size increased during adult years. Majority of the respondents complained that their feet became wider and almost half of these individuals related this to gaining extra body weight.
It was revealed that about one-in-six people never knew their actual foot size and mostly wore wrong shoes. Almost 62 percent of the participants were unaware of the fact that different shoes have different width that can be too narrow or small for their feet. The study noted 29 percent of women and 18 percent of men were uncomfortable in their everyday shoes that gave them sores, blisters, corns, tight calf muscles and aching feet. These minor foot troubles affect body balancing and give rise to conditions like osteoarthritis in lower limbs.
Online shopping and shoe purchases do not give us the convenience to wear shoes to check size and comfort level. One-third of study participants reported wearing wrong sized shoes they purchased online.
"Whatever your shoe size, the most important thing is to wear a comfortable, well-fitting shoe. Many are unaware they are wearing the wrong shoe size - significant numbers of UK adults are not having shoes professionally fitted or have not had their feet measured before," said Emma Supple, co-author and a podiatrist, reports the Daily Mail.
The authors believe typecasting women with large feet as less 'dainty or feminine' influences them to shy away from buying larger and comfortable shoes. Retail brands and shoe manufacturers are producing wider footwear to adjust to the increasing foot size of the English population.
'However, there is still work to be done to offer a good range of shoes which are seen as "fashionable" but are also comfortable to wear and well fitting," Supple added, reports the Telegraph.
Jun 03, 2014 07:37 AM EDT