Comparison of feet and toes morphology by grade and sex in elementary school students

Abstract

[Introduction] In recent years, the number of children with pre‐locomotive syndrome, or “children's locomo,” has been in‐creasing. The reason for certain locomotor function abnormalities, such as the inability to stand on one leg, may be due to changes in the growth of the foot itself, which is the foundation of locomotor function. The purpose of this study was to clarify the characteristics of the growth of foot morphology in school‐aged children, including sex differences, together with the development of their height and weight. [Methods] We investigated the height, weight, and foot morphology of 451 school‐age children. Foot length, foot width,hallux valgus angle, little toe varus angle, spread angle, and foot‐width‐to‐foot‐length ratio (foot width/foot length) were measured using a foot balance measuring device, Foot Look. The analysis compared height, weight, and foot and toe mor‐phology by grade (low, middle, and high)and sex using a two‐factor analysis of variance. [Results] Height, weight, and foot morphology increased steadily from lower to higher grades. There were sex differences in the growth of foot length, foot width, hallux valgus angle, and spread angle. Foot width/foot length, which indicates foot proportions, was significantly larger in boys than girls in the lower and middle grades, but the difference was not sig‐nificant in the upper grades. [Conclusion] Boys' feet were broader in shape in the lower and middle grades than girls', suggesting that boys' feet de‐velop to similar proportions to girls' in the upper grades. Girls' feet did not change significantly in foot width/length during school years, indicating that they have the same proportions from an earlier age than boys' feet.