| Wits Study Suggests Wearing Shoes is Bad For You |
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| Thursday, 25 October 2007 | |
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Researchers at the University of the Witwatersrand today announced the results of a study on the health of human feet published in the November issue of the prestigious journal The Foot. The study demonstrates that people had healthier feet prior to the invention of the shoes. European) and on skeletons of humans more than 2000 years old. The study challenges the widely held belief that habitually wearing shoes is good for your feet and suggests that going "barefoot" results in fewer bony pathologies, particularly in the metatarsal (mid-foot) region. The study also highlights the damage done to female feet by the wearing of high-heels. "In almost every case, women show a higher frequency of fore-foot pathologies, bony damage to the foot, and this is almost certainly due to the constraining nature of fashionable female footwear and the wearing of high heels in particular" notes Prof. Berger. The one exception to this is in Zulu males where surprisingly, the study shows that they have more foot pathologies than Zulu females. "The surprising reversal in this global trend may be due to the history of manual labour in South African mines where these men were forced to wear ill-fitting footwear and stand on their feet for long hours" notes Dr Zipfel, lead author on the paper. Prof. Berger is quick to point out, however, that statistically, the Zulu population group in the study "have the healthiest feet overall. This was followed by Sotho peoples, with people of European decent having the most unhealthy feet". Dr Zipfel explains that "our study suggests that the reason Africans have generally healthier feet is probably due to the fact that the mid-twentieth century Africans examined probably came from rural areas and thus may have been barefoot as children - a much healthier situation for their feet than the European group which probably wore shoes from an early age". Prof. Berger adds "Prehistoric humans had it right - bare is best - at least when it comes to feet!" Dr Zipfel notes that while the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA), the largest organization in the world representing podiatric medicine, justifiably instructs people with diabetes who have lost protective sensation not to go barefoot; "they, however, unfortunately also do not actively encourage outdoor barefoot walking for healthy individuals. This flies in the face of the increasing scientific evidence, including our study, that most of the commercially available footwear is not good for the feet". Both authors agree that the results of the study indicate that if one's goal is to have fewer foot problems then going without shoes is the healthier option. But Dr. Zipfel, is quick to point out that there are some situation where wearing shoes is mandatory "for hygienic reasons shoes should be worn in public areas, restaurants and toilets and situations where there might be the danger of stepping on sharp objects" he notes. The research was supported by grants from the Palaeontological Scientific Trust and the University of the Witwatersrand. Source: Ends /dm |
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