Variability of foot growth in width in relation to length among 3-year-old girls and boys.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to analyze the length and width of the feet and the mutual rate of growth of these features in 3-year-old girls and boys classified into age categories taking into account the semi-annual division.

Methods: The study covered 800 children (400 girls and 400 boys) aged 3. The CQ-ST podoscope was applied as the research tool. The data were analyzed based on Student's t-test for independent samples, Mann-Whitney U-test, Wilcoxon test and simple regression.

Results: There were statistically significant differences in the width of the right and left feet, for both girls (1st group: p<0.001; 2nd group: p = 0.006) and boys (1st group: p<0.001; 2nd group: p<0.001), in the absence of differences in length. In the regression models created for the results of girls and boys classified into age categories, the coefficients of determination ranged from R2= 0.24 to R2= 0.48.

Conclusions: The right and left feet of the examined girls and boys are characterized by symmetry in terms of length, while in terms of width, the left feet are larger than the right ones. In girls, the width of the foot increases proportionally by about 67-69% of the length, while in boys, the increase in foot width is 49-61% of the growth in length. In boys classified to the 2nd group, the growth of the foot in width in relation to its lenght in length is smaller than in the 1st group.