My kids are well past the age of bringing then to cartoon movies but now that our grandson is in the “I like movie” stage, all of the cartoon movies from the 2000s are now in play for me to see. In 2006 a fun cartoon movie came out called “Happy Feet” and voices included some major stars including Robin Williams, Nicole Kidman and Huge Jackmon.
So, today we will discuss “feet” and this entry was not inspired by the “Happy Feet” movie, but rather, by a television commercial I saw for a national company called “The Good Feet Stores”. This multi-location store sells arch support for people that are suffering from feet pain, most notably plantar fasciitis (Lets call this “PF” as I will be very likely to misspell “fasciitis” multiple times).
PF is a very painful syndrome that involves severe pain around the heel, bottom of the feet and extension into the Achilles tendon at times. For those of you athletes out there that have experienced PF, you know how painful this can be, interfering with your exercise routines. In the commercial for the Good Feet stores, the person they show smiling after receiving relief from the pain is a morbidly obese woman.
Obesity increases the likelihood of developing PF 6X more than a normal weight person. That is a 600% increase in risk, i.e. there is an incredibly higher chance of developing PF when weight control is poor.
The physics of weight as this relates to joint pressure: For every pound lost there are 4 pounds less pressure on the weight bearing joints, including, of course, the feet. Take a step back and think about this: If a person loses 25 pounds, there is 100 pounds less pressure on the hips, knees, ankles, and of course, the feet.
If you want “Happy Feet”, get that weight down. This is a much better approach than needing to go to a “foot” store for help.
And, what would this entry be without a video from a very old Kevin Bacon film, “Footlosse”? Enjoy the Kenny Loggins song.
