When individuals embark on a weight loss journey, they often anticipate improvements in energy levels, cardiovascular health, and overall well-being. However, one less discussed but significant change is the potential impact on foot size and health. This article explores the connection between weight loss and foot health, providing insights into how shedding excess weight can affect your feet.
The Link Between Weight Loss and Foot Size
One of the questions that arises is whether weight loss can cause feet to shrink. The answer is yes. When people lose weight, fat distribution decreases throughout the body, including the feet.
Reduction in Fat Distribution
Losing weight reduces fat all over the body. The overall bony structure of the feet doesn’t change, but the amount of soft tissue decreases.
Decreased Fluid Retention
Carrying extra weight puts more pressure on the veins in your legs and feet, making it harder for your body to circulate blood properly. This can cause swelling, also known as edema, which increases the size of your feet. Losing weight can reduce inflammation and fluid retention in your lower extremities, contributing to smaller, less swollen feet.
Impact on Shoe Size
Weight loss can cause your feet to decrease in size, sometimes even up to a full shoe size, depending on how much weight you lose. Many people will notice some extra room in their shoes after losing a significant amount of weight. As feet shrink with weight loss, running shoe size will change.
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Benefits of Weight Loss on Foot Health
Beyond changes in size, weight loss can also improve the overall health of your feet.
Reduced Inflammation
Excess body fat releases inflammatory hormones, which can lead to joint and muscle pain. By losing weight, the reduction in inflammatory hormones can alleviate pain and discomfort in the feet.
Improved Foot Mechanics
With less weight bearing down on your feet, you reduce the risk of conditions like plantar fasciitis, heel spurs, and arch pain.
Decreased Foot Pain
Less weight means less pressure on your feet, which reduces strain on the arches, tendons, and ligaments. If you experience foot pain and are trying to lose weight, low impact exercises are essential. Water aerobics, swimming, yoga, and walking are all great places to start. If you can move around and walk without issue, shoot for 10,000 steps a day.
Other Factors Influencing Foot Size
While weight loss can have a positive effect on your feet, other factors can also influence foot size over time.
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Age
As you age, your feet may increase in size due to ligamentous laxity, which occurs from hormonal changes, hydration loss, and wear and tear from daily activities.
Pregnancy
Pregnancy causes hormonal changes that increase the laxity of ligaments in preparation for childbirth. A small March 2013 study in the American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation studied foot changes in a group of people throughout their pregnancies. The authors concluded that pregnancy is associated with a decrease of arch height and rigidity, and greater foot lengthening, all of which causes you to need a bigger shoe size. These changes in the feet could actually be permanent, contributing to the increased risk for musculoskeletal disorders. The key hormonal change that affects the foot is a rise in progesterone.
Diabetes
Diabetes can cause fluid retention and poor circulation in the lower extremities, leading to swollen feet. For diabetic patients, more frequent visits with a podiatrist are recommended. If diabetes becomes out of control, diabetics can find themselves suffering from compressed nerves in their legs and feet which means they will have a reduction in the feeling of those extremities.
Foot structure and flat feet
When someone is carrying extra weight, the tendons and ligaments in their feet often stretch. When a person loses weight, there is a reduction in that stretch, which leads to potential changes in shoe size. There may be a decrease in the amount of soft tissue. A March 2018 study in Homo looked at the effect of obesity on foot arch heights in 270 people assigned female at birth between ages 10 and 84. Flat feet were mostly found in those who were older and those with obesity, but the authors concluded that a high BMI contributes to the development of flat feet more than age. And when your feet are flatter, they're also wider, so your shoe size will be bigger, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Taking Care of Your Feet
Taking care of your feet is essential, especially if you’ve recently lost weight or have underlying health conditions like diabetes or arthritis.
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Inspect Your Feet Daily
Look for signs of swelling, discoloration, or changes in nail texture.
Wear Properly Fitted Shoes
Shoes that are too tight or too loose can cause blisters, calluses, and other foot problems.
Moisturize Regularly
Keep your feet hydrated by applying a thin layer of moisturizer like Eucerin Advanced Repair Foot Cream.
Regular Foot Checkups
Even if you are not experiencing pain, regular foot checkups are important. Foot health is essential to your general health overall.
Additional Foot Problems Related to Weight
Extra weight means extra stress. A big worry many people have regarding how your weight impacts your feet is arthritis. Arthritis can be debilitating. 1 in 3 obese people will be diagnosed with arthritis. Arthritis is the breaking down of the cartilage between joints. Cartilage cushions joints. Without it, your bones have no buffer between them. They can grind against each other, causing intense pain with every movement. Another foot problem common amongst overweight and obese patients is Plantar Fasciitis. Plantar Fasciitis refers to inflammation along the tendon that connects the toes to the heel. Sufferers will feel a sharp pain in their heels, often the worst when they first wake up. Like flat feet, losing weight should help relieve the pain. Much like Plantar Fasciitis, excess weight can lead to inflammation in the tendons. This is referred to as tendonitis. If you have flat feet, you are likely to have tendonitis of the Achilles tendon which connects the heel to the calf muscle. Bone spurs are created by the body in an effort to lessen the friction between two bones.
Questions and Answers
Can Weight Loss Affect Shoe Size?
Yes, losing weight can cause your feet to decrease in size due to the reduction of fat distribution and swelling in your feet. While you can not spot reduce weight in your feet, when you lose weight you might find your shoe size goes down a bit. The change will likely not be extreme. You might find your shoes are a little loose, but you should not expect to go down more than about a half size. Even when you lose weight, the structure of your foot remains the same.
Does Weight Loss Reduce Foot Pain?
Yes, losing weight can reduce foot pain. Less weight means less pressure on your feet, which reduces strain on the arches, tendons, and ligaments.
When Should I See a Podiatrist?
You should see a podiatrist if you experience any foot pain, swelling, or changes in the appearance of your feet. If you have lost weight but still have foot pain, you may have a more significant issue on your hands that a specialist will need to diagnose and treat.
The impact of weight on feet
We don’t often think about how your weight impacts your feet. Your feet and ankles support most of your weight. For adults, as you gain weight, the structure of your feet remains the same. Your bones don’t get stronger and neither do your ligaments. A bit of extra weight increases the pressure on your feet tenfold. It is no wonder that many foot problems are exacerbated by an increase in weight. The extra weight on the feet can cause tendons to weaken. Over time, the arch will collapse and the feet will become flat. Flat feet can not provide optimal support to the rest of the body. They are associated with other foot issues like Plantar Fasciitis, but the slow flattening of your feet can also cause significant pain.
Pressure Reduction
Did you realize that every little step you take loads your feet with over 120 percent of your body weight? Rule of thumb is the load force increases roughly 4 to 5 pounds with every extra pound of excess weight for your recommended size and body weight. You can use that math to determine how much pressure is taken off your feet when you lose weight. If you lose 10 pounds, for example, you're removing about 50 pounds of pressure from your feet. With this pressure reduction, there's an improvement in motion of the foot.
Cankles
When we talk about fat pads on the ankles, we could be referring to two things. One is Kager’s fat pad. This fat pad is located on the ankle behind the Achilles tendon. These fat pads on the ankles can become inflamed. When it becomes inflamed it is often accompanied by inflammation in the surrounding structures like the Achilles tendon. The Kager’s fat pad is not fat you can or need to lose. When the average person thinks of fat pads on ankles, they are likely to think of cankles. Cankles are the term used to describe a leg where the ankle is not defined. Although cankles are generally considered undesirable, most of the time they are nothing to worry about. Some people have larger bones, muscles, and tendons. In some cases, cankles can be caused by a condition known as Lipoedema. This painful condition causes fat to be stored on the legs. Exercise and diet will not get rid of the fat. Lymphodema is another disorder that can cause cankles. This condition causes lymphatic fluid to build up in the body, including in the ankles.
Symptoms that should alert you that it’s time to make an appointment
If you are experiencing foot or ankle pain, contact a specialist. If you have foot or ankle pain and cannot get relief, it may be time to see a specialist.
Weight Loss Strategies
Many nutritionists and health experts will tell you that weight loss happens in the kitchen. Now, you don’t need to hop on the most recent diet bandwagon or completely cut out all your favorite foods. Simply monitor what you are eating and be sure you are getting your share of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy carbohydrates.
Personal Experiences
As you go through weight loss, your feet can get smaller. You can lose weight in your feet. Your feet do shrink. Realizing that your feet can shrink was not only the biggest surprise in losing weight, but it was also one of the most painful. For a Hobbit, I have nice feet. They’re short, thick, hairy, and wide. After my weight loss, I my feet shrank from a size 12 to a size 9(ish), overall. With a stop at 10.5 in the middle there. Even now, nearly a decade later, I don’t really know what size of running shoe I wear. I know my range, and it varies between makes, models, and types of shoes. For years, I wore a 10 4E (that’s extra-wide) in my Asics Gel-Nimbus running shoes, but I’ve been told that’s far too big for me, too. I don’t believe those people. In Altras and Converse, I tend to wear a 9 or 9.5. New Balance 860 is a 9 2E (just wide, not extra). And in Brooks Glycerin and Hoka One One Bondi and Arahi, I wear a straight-up 10. It’s weird, y’all. The fit changes a bit by each shoe and brand, but that just means I get to experiment with more running shoes. So first of all…don’t wear shoes that are too big. They hurt. Bad. I have always worn shoes for entirely too long. I had no idea that you needed to replace shoes (especially running shoes) as often as you do. When my feet first lost weight, most of my shoes slipped up and down more than they did before, obviously. But I kept wearing them. It was gradual enough that despite getting blisters and sore feet and knees, I just kept wearing those beat-up Skechers in the featured image. Which is also a no-no. Have a pair (or two, if possible) of running shoes that are for running only. Then also be sure to have sneakers or retired runners that are your daily wears. As I started really running, the blisters got worse. So did the foot and knee pain. It wasn’t the normal fat-guy-running pain. This was an all-new, all-different kind of pain. And when I finally did buy my first pair of real running shoes, they were a size and a half smaller than my old shoes. And the soles weren’t destroyed, there was cushioning, and they didn’t slip around and blister my feet. It was truly amazing. And since then, I’ve sized down even further. Because once I realized that it was the weight loss that made my feet shrink, the fix was easy: buy smaller shoes. I’ve just always been seeing myself bigger than I actually am.