Are You Measuring Up?

January 23rd is Measure Your Feet Day: It’s Time to Check In with Your Feet and Check Up on Your Shoe Size.

Remember when you were a kid and your mom put you up against the wall or door-frame and measured how tall you were?

Wasn’t it fun to check the date and see how you’d changed?

Well as an adult, it’s still good for us to check our height, but it’s probably even more important that we periodically re-check our shoe size.

When was the last time you measured your feet? 

January 23^rd is officially Measure Your Feet Day!  How some of these wild and wacky days to celebrate end up on the calendar I’ll never know, but this is a great day to help  raise awareness about the importance of paying closer attention to your feet in order to keep you healthy, happy, and pain-free.  Here are some tips to help you measure your feet and toes to ensure you’re in the right sized shoes.

Did you know that your feet can continue to change sizes, even if you’ think they’ve stopped growing?  The size of shoes you need to properly fit your feet can go up or down based on your body weight and the muscle tone of your feet.  So it seriously IS a good idea to regularly measure your feet to see if the shoes you are wearing are the right size and fit properly so you can be well-supported and healthy.

Almost 80% of Americans experience foot pain problems at some point in their life, according to the American Podiatric Medical Association.  In fact more Americans experience pain and problems with their feet more than any other body area considered important to health.  Foot pain seems to rank lowest as a priority to take care of, yet the impact on lifestyle and activity can be severe.

Keeping our feet fit by doing daily exercises to stretch and strengthen the ankles, arches and toes along with wearing supportive well-fitting shoes can make a world of difference for healthy feet!

Mark your calendar for January 23^rd and plan your own Measure Your Feet Day celebration!

Here are some tips to ensure you’re wearing the right size shoes for both fit and comfort.

• You can measure your own feet, but it’s easier and perhaps a little more accurate to find a friend and help each other with the measuring process.
• Also, it’s best to shop for shoes (and measure your feet) later in the day after you’ve been moving around, because your feet will be at their largest.

How To Measure Your Feet

1. Place a blank sheet of paper on the floor (8 ½ x 11)
2. Place one foot on the paper and stand tall. (wear whatever socks or stockings you plan to wear with your shoes for the most accurate measurement)
3. With a pencil or pen held vertically, draw a mark at the end of your heel.
4. Make another mark at the end of your longest toe.
5. Mark the sides of your feet at the widest part.
6. Be sure to note on the top of the page if this is your RIGHT or LEFT foot.
7. Repeat the process with another sheet of paper for the other foot.
8. Get out a ruler and in inches, measure the heel to toe length.  To find your size, refer to the chart below.
9. To find your width, measure the marks for the widest part of your foot, and use the inch-to-size width table below.
10. If you find that your measurements are between two sizes, or you discover that one foot’s measurement is larger than the other, always move up to the larger size.

Remember, the charts below are only a “guide” to finding your correct size.  While it would be great for shoe manufacturers to have consistent sizing, every shoe style fits a little differently.  Sometimes your actual shoe size and the “guide” size might not be the same.  To select the right size, fit and comfort will ultimately help you be confident that you’re wearing the right sized shoe.  Pay attention to your feet, notice how your feet feel in your shoes.  And if it’s been awhile since you’ve measured your feet – get out your paper, pen, and ruler and double-check to be sure you’re in the best-sized shoe for you!

 Shoe Size: Inch-to-Size Conversion Chart  

  Men’s                                 Women’s

U.S. Men’s Size / Width Chart

Women’s U.S Sizes / Widths

Boys and Girls Conversion Chart (18 months to 7 years)

Find a friend, round up all the members of your family, grab some paper, a pencil or pen, and a ruler, and check out the current size of your feet to celebrate Measure Your Feet Day!

Parents Please Note:
This is a great activity for children to practice measuring and math!

Are you wearing the right sized shoes to keep your feet healthy?  If you’ve just discovered that your feet might feel better in a different sized shoe, perhaps January 24^th needs to be declared the official – “Shopping for New Shoes Day!” It’s not a bad idea to shop for new shoes regularly anyway.