Basic data of the footprint morphology and its validity as the reference data

Abstract

Footprints of 566 young adult Japanese males were examined for nine measurements, two indices and three shape characteristics (the longest toe, the development of the plantar arch, the floating toe). Information on the distribution of these variables was provided for use in ergonomic and forensic applications. Intra-observer measurement errors of the footprint measurements were about the same with those of manual foot measurements. The subjects were born in the early 1970s and the mean age at the time of measurement was 19.3 years. The validity of the present data as a reference data was examined using existing data. Mean body size and mean foot size of the present subjects were about the same with those of the same generation measured at the similar age. No age-related changes were observed in foot length and foot circumference after 18 years of age. Secular change was not observed for the foot circumference in the generation born in and after the 1930s, and that in the foot length was minimal in the generations born in and after 1980. These results suggest the usefulness of the present data as the reference data at present and in the near future.