Prevalence of flatfoot among school students and its relationship with BMI

Abstract

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to analyze the relation between the flat-footedness and obesity.Materials and MethodsA total of 1158 school children (653 male and 505 female) participated in this cross sectional descriptive study. According to their age, children were divided into three groups for each gender (6–10, 11–13, 14–18 years old). Diagnosis and severity of flatfoot was assessed in using the Dennis method. BMI of children were calculated as body weight divided by height squared (kg*m−2).ResultsMajority (83.9%) of respondents had normal feet. The prevalence of flatfoot was 16.1% with a decreasing trend with age. Boys had a higher frequency of flatfoot than girls; however the difference was not significant (p > 0.05). The prevalence of flatfoot was 17.5% in boys and 14.5% in girls. The percentage of overweight and obese children was 10.3%. A significant difference in the prevalence of flatfoot occurred between; under-weight (13.9%), normal-weight (16.1%), overweight (26.9%), and obese (30.8%); children.ConclusionThe increasing prevalence of childhood obesity is one of the most serious health challenges across the globe, and a positive correlation between increased BMI; and flatfoot is one of the potential complications.

Plasmatic adipocyte biomarkers and foot pain associated with flatfoot in schoolchildren with obesity

“…Our results are consistent with other studies, which reported a relatively high prevalence of overweight, and obesity among children aged 6-12 years. 12,14,15 In this study, BMI correlated positively with flat foot among school-age children. The prevalence for flatfoot was significantly higher in schoolchildren with obesity (52%, P=0.001), overweight (31.25%, P=0.01), and low weight (33.3 %, p=0.01) compared to the prevalence of flat foot (17.2 %) in children with normal weight.…”

“…Consistent with current results, previous research found flat foot in 52% of boys and 36% of girls aged 3-6 years old. 12,[21][22][23][24] This study showed that 43.6% of the subjects had an abnormal change in BMI. The prevalence of increased BMI was 33.3% in overweight and 62.5% in obese schoolchildren, respectively.…”

“…Consistent to our results, significant variations in the prevalence of flatfoot were reported in under-weight (13.9%), normal-weight (16.1%), overweight (26.9%), and obese (30.8%) schoolchildren aged 3-18 years. 12,15 This may be explained by the fact that excess weight exerts more stress and load on the ligaments and soft tissues of the foot, which induces injuries and deformities in the feet. [12][13][14][15][16] In our study, a significantly higher likelihood of flatfoot (33.3 %, p=0.01) was reported in elementary school children aged 6-8 years old who were underweight, suggesting that underweight children were likely to have flatfoot, compared with those of normal weight (17.2 %).…”

“…[8][9][10] In obese adolescents, higher levels of visfatin, leptin, and lower adiponectin concentrations were evaluated compared to their healthy counterparts. [8][9][10][11][12][13] Also, subjects with obesity showed an increase in the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) as pro-inflammatory markers. [11][12][13] In addition, leptin and resistin as biomarkers of childhood obesity showed a correlation with bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) of the femoral neck and lumbar spine, 12-17 thus playing a significant role in mediating the foot-bone axis.…”

“…[8][9][10][11][12][13] Also, subjects with obesity showed an increase in the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) as pro-inflammatory markers. [11][12][13] In addition, leptin and resistin as biomarkers of childhood obesity showed a correlation with bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) of the femoral neck and lumbar spine, 12-17 thus playing a significant role in mediating the foot-bone axis. After considering the aforementioned studies, 8-15 the aim of this study was to determine the potential association of foot pain and plasmatic adipocytes as physiological biomarkers of childhood obesity with the incidence of flatfoot in a cohort of Egyptian school children aged 6 -12 years.…”