The influence of body fat on the longitudinal and transverse arch of the feet in people with Down syndrome – a controlled study

Obesity, and consequently excessive body fat, is one of the serious health problems of the 21st century. For years, research has been conducted on the effect of obesity and excessive body fat on the arch of the feet. Down syndrome (DS) causes a whole set of characteristic symptoms that make up the clinical picture: developmental disorders, excessive elasticity of ligaments and soft structures, reduced muscle tone cause disorders in the structure of the musculoskeletal system, including the foot. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there are no reports in the available literature addressing the issue of the influence of body fat on the development of foot pathology in people with Down syndrome; therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the influence of excessive body fat on the longitudinal and transverse arches of the feet in people with DS of different ages. The study will involve about 120 people, including about 60 people with Down syndrome who will be the study group and about 60 healthy people who will be the control group. About 120 people. They will be both women and men aged 18 to 35. Measurement tools Anthropometer – a Martin anthropometer (Seritex, New York, USA) will be used to measure body height, giving the result with an accuracy of 0.1 cm. The test will be performed barefoot, in a freely upright position, the measurement will be taken from the basis point to the vertex point. The duration of this measurement will be approximately 2 minutes. TANITA scale – the TANITA scale (Tanita Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, model BC 418 MA) with an 8-electrode measuring system will be used to measure body weight, body fat percentage, body fat mass, and BMI. The test will be performed barefoot, in a freely upright position. The duration of this measurement will be approximately 3 minutes. Podoscanner – a 2D podoscanner (Sensor Medica, Rome, Italy) will be used to assess the longitudinal arch and transverse arch of the feet. Both feet will be measured simultaneously, and the subjects will stand on the podo-scanner barefoot, in a freely upright position. To assess the degree of longitudinal arch of the foot, based on the image obtained on the scanner, the Clarke angle will be calculated as the angle between the tangent of the medial edge of the foot print and the line connecting the point of the largest depression and the point where the medial tangent meets the edge. The accepted norms are 41° and less - longitudinal flatfoot, 42° - 54° - correct longitudinal arch, 55° and more - hollow foot. The Weisflog index will be used to assess the transverse arch, calculated as the ratio of the foot length to its width. The accepted norms are 3 - 2.51 - correct transverse arch, below 2.5 - transverse flatfoot. The duration of this measurement will be approximately 10 minutes. The total duration of a single measurement for each patient will be approximately 15 minutes.