No abstract

BackgroundThis study compared the effects of barefoot policy, a policy instructing preschool children to go without shoes, on untouched-toes, which do not touch the ground while standing normally, of preschool children attending kindergartens that follow this rule, to preschooler in kindergartens where they must wear shoes, i.e., no-barefoot policy.MethodsThe study used longitudinal data from measurements taken 2 years apart of the amount of times. The subjects were 59 children (34 boys and 25 girls) who went to a kindergarten that followed barefoot policy and 179 children (103 boys and 76 girls) who went to a kindergarten that did not follow barefoot policy. Images were taken of the contact surface area of the soles of the children’s feet by having them stand on the measurement device with their bare feet.ResultsThe number of untouched-toes in children participating in the study was determined from the pictures. In boys who attended kindergartens following barefoot policy, the ratio of the children without untouched-toes significantly increased for 2 years of childhood (35.3–64.7 %). The number of untouched-toes were significantly fewer in boys from kindergartens following barefoot policy than in boys from kindergartens not following the policy, and the magnitude of the difference grew for the two study years (ES: 0.41–0.63). In girls, there were no significant differences between the two groups in the ratio of girls without untouched-toes and the number of untouched-toes.ConclusionsIn conclusion, the ground contact of the toes becomes better for boys in kindergarten with a barefoot policy. The results were inconclusive with regard to girls, and other factors may need to be examined. In the future, it will be necessary to increase the number of the subjects and perform detailed examinations.

Although some studies have examined the effect of allowing preschool children to go without shoes, some points remain unexamined. Therefore, this study examined the effect of kindergartens' barefoot policy on the contact area of the soles of the feet (plantar arch, hallux valgus angle, and foot angle). Participants were 313 preschool children (169 boys; 144 girls) at a kindergarten following the barefoot policy and 339 (176 boys; 163 girls) at a kindergarten not following the policy. The children stood barefoot on a pedoscope, so images of their soles' contact area could be taken and then analyzed by software specifically for that purpose. Both boys and girls who attended kindergartens with barefoot policy had better development of the plantar arch and less angle of the hallux valgus than children who attended kindergartens not following the barefoot policy. Only boys who attended kindergartens that followed barefoot policy had a larger foot angle than children who attended kindergartens that did not. For preschool children, barefoot policy positively affected their soles' contact area.

Background: This study investigates 1) the effects of amount of exercise on levels of serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) and calcium, and 2) the relationship between PTH response and bone mineral density in adolescent female athletes.Subjects: Twenty-one female athletes on a top-ranked high school basketball

Exercise may be a more important factor for the improvement of TC/HDLC than concomitant body fat reduction and non-strenuous exercise may maintain a more stable and higher HDLC level than strenuous exercise.