ABSTRACT
The Philippines lacks an anthropometric measurement database for the Filipino foot. The currently used shoe sizing systems in the Philippines are (1) based on the foot anthropometry of Westerners, (2) has no “intrinsic” meaning to the shoe buyer, and (3) still based on English units, and not on the standard metric system. This study compiled measurements of 11 foot dimensions of Filipino children aged 7 to 12 years old. Males have generally bigger foot measurements than females. The measurements start to significantly differ between males and females from ages 10 to 12 – the period where physiological differences between genders start to appear. Foot length, foot width and foot height are the components that contribute most to foot size variability. A Filipino shoe sizing system based on a child’s age is proposed. The proposed system can be used by manufacturers of school shoes made of black leather such as those currently used by Filipino grade school students.
