BY MICHAEL ROIZEN, M.D., AND MEHMET OZ, M.D.
Even we YOU Docs (who think white lab coats are the height of fashion) are aware that women's heels have gotten taller than Heidi Klum. Upshot: It's not just bankers who are getting rich in this economy. Foot physicians are doing fabulously, too - much to their dismay. As the average height of fashion heels has gone from 3 inches to 5 or 6 inches, women's visits to docs for foot and toe woes have soared an estimated 75 percent during the past few years. Eight out of 10 women say their shoes are painful.
You're not surprised? Neither are we. For Carrie Bradshaw and other fans of Manolos et al, walking has become an extreme fashion sport - what one foot surgeon calls "shoe-icide." Peek under the chairs in Dr. Oz's TV audiences, and kicked-off shoes are the rule.
So, is there any good news in here? Yep. There's now evidence, from global business analysts at IBM, of all places, that as the economy tiptoes up, heel heights inch down. While it used to be hemlines that tied fashion to finance, stilettos appear to be the new economic indicators. You may already have spotted your neighborhood fashionista skipping around in ballet flats. What's next? The return of kitten heels, which top out at 2 inches, the height most foot docs agree is the maximum for happy feet. We can hear women cheering now.
Hey, we never expected to be writing about kitten heels or fashionistas in this column. But we have wives and daughters. We gotta keep up!
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The YOU Docs, Mehmet Oz, host of "The Dr. Oz Show" and Mike Roizen of Cleveland Clinic, are authors of "YOU: Losing Weight." For more information go to www.RealAge.com.
(c) 2011 Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
