Fun Foot Facts

Feet are wonderful things, they take us wherever we want to go, help us to dance and can be adorned with a never-ending variety of footwear! Here are some fun facts about feet that you might not know:

  • Average foot size has increased by two sizes since the 1970s. As people seem to be growing heavier and taller, feet are adapting to support our new size. Many people deny their true foot size with half of women in a survey reporting that they bought shoes too small for them. Podiatrists will tell you that this can cause a wealth of foot problems. For a great-fitting pair of shoes, visit a Shoe Shop in Gloucester like cottersshoes.co.uk
  • Did you know that the average person walks a whopping 100,000 miles in a life time? This figure does not include those who enjoy hiking, jogging or running who will log an awful lot more.
  • The world record for feet sniffing belongs to Madeline Albrecht who had the dubious honour of working for Scholl for 15 years and sniffed an incredible 5,600 feet. She is also the proud owner of the record for highest numbers of armpits sniffed too!

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  • Women suffer more from foot problems than men and that’s likely as a result of wearing high heels. A 2.5inch heel increases the pressure on the forefoot by 75%
  • Toenails grow much slower than fingernails, about 1mm each month.
  • Your feet are at their largest at the end of the day and there are 250,000 sweat glands located in your feet. Maybe that’s why our shoes often smell so bad!
  • Hundreds of years ago there was no distinction between men’s and women’s footwear. It wasn’t until the 18th century that shoes began to be designed as looking different for the sexes.
  • Each foot contains 26 bones, 107 ligaments, 33 joints and 19 muscles and tendons.
  • Women tend to walk 3 miles more than men every day.
  • Walking is still considered to the best form of exercise for everyone. Walking helps to improve circulation and maintain a healthy weight.
  • Wearing the correct running is incredibly important as the pressure on feet during running can be up to four times the person’s body weight.
  • A quarter of all the body’s bones are in the feet. If something isn’t right or out of alignment in your feet, then it has a knock-on effect throughout your whole body.

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  • Until the Romans, there was no differentiation between right and left shoes and shoes were exactly the same for both feet.
  • The soles of your feet contain more sweat and sensory nerve glands per square centimetre than anywhere else on your body.
  • Walking is less stressful on the feet then standing still for long periods of time. Standing puts more pressure on the same few muscles over time than walking does.
  • Foot problems can be the first sign of bigger problems with your general health. Often conditions such as diabetes, circulatory disorders and arthritis initially present themselves in the