DEVELOPING THE SPECIES

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 68, 29 September 1928, Page 20

DEVELOPING THE SPECIES

WHY FEW WOMEN ARE PIGEONTOED. Primeval . ancestors of, the human species walked on all fours, or in other words were true quadrupeds. Those of the group which branched off finally to i constitute the human race gradually ;• acquired the upright habit of locomotion, becoming bipeds. In the Quadrumana, the feet are curved inward and because of this servo better for the grasping of tho branches of trees. Apes and monkeys .of the present age, when walking on the ground, are pigeon-toed, so to speak, arid bear the weight of the body largely on the outer edges of their feet. This strong inward reflection of the feet of an infant human child when three weekold was seen as it hung by its .hands from a stick. It is interesting to note the change of this situation' in adult human beings, after tho species has followed the course of walking in'the upright position during the long period'of. its existence. It is of interest ' also to observe whether or not "such factors as age, height, weight,. and -so . forth in groups of individuals are effective in altering the fbbt-position with respect to what it is in the' general.: population.- .*''".' "■ Data taken .on the. feet of approximately eleven, thousand Women by Professor John W. Crist, of Michigan State College, is .presented in the

"Journal of Heredity," says the "San Francisco Chronicle." "In the main,'? says Professor Crist, "the foet of the modern human being, when /. standing or walking, take one of three positions,/ Either-' they reflect inward (pigeon-toed), or- ate straight, or else reflect outward. Auiong women in general, the normal seems to, be a. predominance of .straight ..'feet, fewer turned; outward, .an'.d,..a-scattei-ed: ■ few turned inward.ior.still -of the position similar to that of the. aboriginal. ■„ "It might be surmised that since, with inereasing'.age, tho muscles.of the body tend .to .relaxation and'tho loss'of tension with respect to;-'- their control over tho> bones- and ''skeletal' joints, age may occasion;;1 relative:.changes in foot-position. Thus:'far, - it. looks 'as though ago is a: strong -factor, affecting the outward turning of tho feet. Nevertheless, the, weight ,of .tho body and its. distribution- may be influential also, since the feet -form -the base of the two. pedestals supporting the trunk and head." ■ •-. . ■ "Clearly, women-become heavier with increasing •age.'-vHenee,'- one of the reasons'for-their fear of the of growing older. .Is it ■'ago as such'pi- the'heaviness that accompanies age which operates as the factor influential in., turning the feet ! outward? Unmistakably, the' number of older, heavy women whose feet turn I outward .is far greater than that :of 'those who arc older but less heavy. Therefore, it-appears" that'it is not altogether. a matter of .age per so, but one of weight, the weight'being a development concomitant with increasing age. In other words, here may bo an adaptation of the foot as a base of the podestal forced to-carry a heavier load and maintain the best balance for this load. It is easy to see that the upright habit of walking would tend to flatten and straighten the foot, but not so obvious : that this would cause the foot to evolve 'past the straight position arid flare, outward. .Increased weight in conjunction with '■the upright habit may be the explanation of this phenomenon.' >. ■.