ABSTRACT
Healthy China action is a key to the Healthy China initiative. Promoting Healthy China is faced with such challenges as coordinating actions of the society at large, and reliance on individual incentives. To overcome these difficulties, the authors propose to adopt a concentrating-on-the-main-points approach. As proposed, the government should focus on the key points of the overall situation and uphold the Healthy China initiative, and base all the actions on individual health actions as the focus. Community health service centers are expected to manage individual health actions so as to cover the population of the country. In this view, the government should formulate the policy of initiating and managing individual health actions by community health service centers.
ABSTRACT
Objective@#To assess plantar arch index (AI) and prevalence of flat feet in school-age children (7-12 years old) in Shanghai and evaluate the relationship between flat feet with age, gender, weight status (BMI) and occurring sides, and to provide a reference for the prevention of flatfeet.@*Methods@#Three-dimensional foot measuring instruments were used to measure bilateral foot length, medial arch height, AI and arch height ratio (AHR) in school-age children in Shanghai. Statistical analysis of these foot parameters was performed.@*Results@#A total of 3 226 children between aged 7 and 12 in Shanghai were measured with AI of (0.27±0.05) and AHR of (3.02±1.89). Prevalence of flat feet in the group of 7 to 12 year old children was 56.1%. Prevalence of flatfeet decreased significantly with age: 72.6% at 7 years old and 37.9% at 12 years old. Boys had a significantly greater risk for flat feet than girls: the prevalence of flat feet was 62.9% for boys and 47.8% for girls (OR=1.81, 95%CI=1.57-2.10). This risk was independent of age but related to gender. The risk of flat feet in boys was always higher than that in girls at every age. For children aged 7-8, being overweight was not significantly related to the occurrence of flat feet. However, for children aged 9-12 who were overweight were more likely to have flat feet than those of normal weight. The OR increased with age: from 1.44 (95%CI=1.03-2.03) at 9 to 2.96 (95%CI=1.68-5.23) at 12. There was no difference on which side flat feet would occur (χ2=0.95，P=0.33).@*Conclusion@#This finding shows that prevalence of flat feet is influenced by age, gender and weight status. AI and prevalence of flat feet in children aged 7-12 decreases with age, and boys have significantly higher prevalence of flat feet than girls. Overweight children aged 9 or older have a higher risk of flat feet.