A STUDY ON RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BMI AND PREVALENCE OF FLAT FOOT AMONG THE ADULTS USING FOOT PRINT PARAMETERS.

Background: Overweight weight and obesity is related with series of health complications, involving raised blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, and musculoskeletal disorders. Foot arch is made up of bony arch and soft tissues which are which acts as shock absorber and helps in transmission and distribution of body weight. Aim: To evaluate the prevalence of flat foot in adults and to establish the relationship between body mass index BMI and foot morphology. Setting and design: The study was conducted in 412 volunteers of both sexes aged between 18-40 years. Methods and material: In full weight bearing foot prints of both foot were impregnated using non irritant blue ink in a 60 cm length x 60cm breadth of paper and the parameters were measured. Results and conclusion : Foot morphology can be assessed by the Clarke’s index(CI), Chippaux - Smirak index (CSI), Staheli index (SI), and Arch index (AI). This study shows that the age group of 25-40 years of both the sex has correlation between BMI and foot morphology. Obesity not only affects the foot by causing pain it also causes other musculo-skeletal problems leading to poor performance, and the ideal BMI should be maintained to minimize the biomechanical problems. Keywords- BMI and flatfoot, flat foot in adults, footprints, morbid obese, Arch index.