The Effects of Obesity on Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Pathology

It is believed that obese individuals may have an increased number of foot and ankle problems.  The World Health Organization recommends a standard classification of adult overweight and obesity using the following body mass index (BMI) calculations:  a BMI of 25.0 to 29.9 kg m2 is defined as overweight; a BMI of 30.0 kg per m2 or more is defined as obesity. The purpose of this paper was to report a survey of 1411 patients in an orthopaedic foot and ankle practice and compare the incidence of orthopaedic foot and ankle complaints with the BMI.