"Fat" Feet

When I was a child, I felt insecure and embarrassed by my "fat feet". I always wanted to go barefoot and my mom would tell me that my feet would get wider if I was constantly barefoot. I was adopted at birth so she didn't share my characteristics. It has always been a challenge to find shoes that fit! And, with my mom's admonitions that I was making my feet wide, I felt responsible for my funny feet. I had one friend suggest that if I lost weight, that I'd have narrower feet as well. (sigh) Fast forward several years and I find out that my feet are typical of Native Americans/American Indians/Amer-Indians (use whatever term best suits your way of thinking). This is from a documented and often cited research paper about American Indians entitled, "Physical Characteristics" by Laurie Beth Duffy:

Many people are surprised to find the physical characteristics running in their family, indicate they are descendents of Native Americans. At this point I usually have someone who accuses me of perpetuating stereotypes of Native Americans. Well, the characteristics I will mention are all based on medical studies. A little research is all that is needed if someone is interested in the facts behind them.

• High cheekbones where glasses set high on the face and get all smeary on the bottom of the lens. *
• Almond shaped almost oriental looking eyes?
• Lazy eyes in children.
• Heavy "fat" eyelids where the eyelid appears to have an extra fold.
• A melanin (pigmentation) in the back of the eye on the retina peculiar to Native Americans.
  
• "Shovel" teeth, the teeth have a ledge on the backside. Run your tongue across them, they feel almost like a shovel shape. *
• Large front teeth with a slight or more than slight gap. (I have large front teeth, but no gap)
• Lack of the Carrabelli cusp on the maxillary first molars, which is missing in Native Americans. (not sure I have this one)
  
• Large heavy earlobes. *
• Crooked fingers particularly the little finger or pinky. *
• An inverted breastbone. Often called a Chicken Breast. The bone actually makes an indentation in the chest. (not sure I have this one)
  
• Little toes that lie under the next one. *
• A second toe longer than the big toe. *
• A wider space between the big toe and second one. *
• An extra ridge of bone along the outside of the foot. *

(For each characteristic that I personally have, I've marked the list with an asterisk. * )

Other similar articles mention the presence of a dark melanin spot on the base of the spine of newborns, which disappears in time. My second son had this mark!

And back to the story about feet - Nike has come out with a shoe designed specifically for Native American feet!

From the New York Post:

NATIVE AMERICANS TAKE A WALK IN NIKE'S SHOES
By PAUL THARP

September 28, 2007 -- Nike has invented a new sneaker designed for especially for the feet of Native Americans - no joke.

The company said it fielded a few crank queries over its new Air Native N7 from individuals asking if shoes also are being introduced for other ethnic groups.

"We've had a few questions about that regarding other groups, but this is a very serious product," said Nike spokesman Kejuan Wilkins.

He said the Native American sneaker was developed over the past two years at the request of Native American health advocates, because Native Americans have been unable to find sneaker sizes suitable for their much wider feet.

Scientific tests and scans done on 70 tribes by Nike and Native American medical researchers showed that 86 percent of males have a shoe size width of "E" or larger. Among females, 97 percent had a width of "C" or larger, compared to average of "B" widths for non-Native American women.

"It's been a serious problem for Native Americans to find suitable and proper sizes for exercise or sports shoes," said Wilkins, noting that Nike pioneered the oversized sneakers of size 20 and larger for pro basketball players.

One of the Native American researchers who helped develop the sneaker, Dr. Rodney Stapp of the Urban Inter-Tribal Center Dallas, said Native Americans need "the antidote of movement and sport." He said they suffer some of the highest rates of diabetes due in large part to being overweight and inactive.

The sneakers will be sold only through Native American marketing channels, and will be retailed at a steep discount, costing around $40 a pair. Nike said proceeds will go directly to Native American groups.