We recognize empirically the individual variation of the form of toes and also its deformation which accentuates metatarso-phalanx angle according to the age. A part of the dissatisfaction of consumer with the ready-made shoes issues from lack of consideration for the morphological changes due to the ageing.
For 156 men and 291 women of Ishikawa and Toyama Prefectures, right side foot photographs and five anthropological measurements (stature, body weight, foot length, foot breadth and tibial malleolus height) were taken. On the photographs medial metatarso-phalanx angle was measured, and two groups are distinguished : one is the normal type of which the metatarso-phalanx angle is more than 160°, and the other is the deformed type of which the angle is less than 159°. 86.5% of men and 76.3% of women are found in the normal type group. The difference between mean values of these two groups is 17° for both sexes. The mean value of foot breadth in the deformed group is 3 mm larger than that of the normal group, and the difference is significant. We remarked certain positive correlation, for women, between body weight and right toe deformation, although this tendency was not followed in men.
