Walking Barefoot

It has become more common to see runner’s barefoot or wearing lightweight hi-tech shoes. There has been some interesting speculation around if it is better for your feet to be shoeless or wearing ultra-lightweight shoes when walking or running.

A study conducted by researchers at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa discovered that before the invention of shoes, individuals had much healthier feet. The study compared the feet of 180 modern humans from three population groups (Sotho, European, Zulu) to 2, 000-year-old-skeletons. The findings concluded that the Zulu populations, who are frequently barefoot, have the healthiest feet, while shoe wearing Europeans had less healthy feet.

The interesting investigation is in motion regarding whether or not humans really need elaborate cushioned walking/running shoes, when those before us had managed for centuries without.

For more information on walking barefoot take a look at these articles: “Benefits of Barefoot”, and “You Walk Wrong”