No, you’re not imagining it. Your feet might be getting bigger
By Trisha Pasricha
We stop growing in height in our teens to early 20s, but our feet usually keep growing. Even in a single day, our foot size fluctuates – expanding as much as a half size – according to the Royal College of Podiatry.
And it is not just our individual foot size. There’s been a major shift over the last century in our collective feet size.
If you’re wondering why your feet feel bigger than they used to, you’re not alone.Credit: iStock
Have you, like me, ever held up a pair of your grandmother’s old shoes and wondered, “How on earth are my feet so much larger?” Your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you. Historians have noted that in 1900, the average man in North America wore a size 6.5 shoe and the average woman wore a size 4.5 shoe.
Our expanding footprint probably reflects a few generational changes. We weigh more because of the obesity epidemic, and we are taller, partly because of improved childhood nutrition, which can accelerate foot growth during adolescence.
The effect of weight gain on foot size may be reversible: a 2017 Turkish study found that male and female patients who had a sleeve gastrectomy for obesity had a decrease in shoe size sustained a year after their surgeries.
In individuals, age alone is enough to increase shoe size – literally bearing the weight of our whole bodies year after year causes our feet to slowly flatten and widen. One study of 200 male veterans found that almost half experienced an increase of at least one shoe size in their adulthood – mainly between ages 45 and 60. That change remained significant even after controlling for the effect of changes in weight.
Why our feet get bigger as we age
Other factors also influence our foot size over our lifetimes. Many are no cause for alarm, but some should be discussed promptly with a physician.
Pregnancy. During pregnancy, hormones relax the ligaments throughout the body. For many people, these changes are permanent, and their feet don’t return to their pre-pregnancy size after they give birth. However, some may have edema, or swelling from too much fluid in the feet, or a collapse of a foot arch that can become painful.
Footwear. Those who typically go barefoot may have wider, though not longer, feet. Habitual users of minimalist shoes for running also have increases in foot muscle volumes compared with those who use traditional running shoes.
Other medical conditions:
- Bunions and calluses, which may ironically be triggered by wearing shoes too small, can later lead to deformities that can enlarge the feet.
- Edema can also increase shoe size, as is common in heart failure (compression stockings may help reduce swelling).
- Acromegaly is a rare disorder in which the body produces too much growth hormone. People with acromegaly have enlarging feet and may have other symptoms of increased bone and cartilage growth, such as swollen hands, a widening nose and changes in jaw line.
You should see a doctor immediately if there are any sudden changes to your foot size, such as swelling of one foot after a long plane or car ride, as it may be a sign of a blood clot.
What I want my patients to know
Get to know and love your feet. One study found that about three in four people – especially older people, as another study found – don’t wear the correct shoe size and often wear shoes that are too narrow. We all get used to wearing a certain size – perhaps for decades – and can overlook how things may have slowly changed without us fully realising it.
Wearing poorly fitting shoes is associated with about five times the odds of getting diabetic foot ulcers and is a risk factor for serious injury such as bone fractures after falling. If you’re at an increased risk of falling – such as with Parkinson’s disease or diabetes – and certainly if you have diabetic foot ulcers, see a podiatrist to get your correct foot size and to take care of your foot health.
Washington Post
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