Estimation of Stature from Foot Print: A Study on Medical Students of Bihar

Abstract

Height and sex from different parts of the body help in solving crime mysteries related to human identity. Similarly, foot or shoe prints if present at the scene of the crime may provide a clue regarding the height and the sex of the person that helps in establishing the partial identity of the suspect. Aims & Objectives is to investigate the relationship between footprint length with sex and to derive a regression equation from footprint length. Footprints of 200 subjects (100 males and 100 females), from among asymptomatic, apparently healthy, young adults studying in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Patna, Bihar, India were taken as a subject for the study. Maximum footprint length and the height of each subject were measured. Predictive equations using linear regression were then derived separately for males, and females and for the combined data with the purpose of estimating the height when only the subject's footprint length is known. It was found that males were taller and have longer feet than females. A correlation coefficient (r) of 0.739 in males and 0.6958 in females was obtained between the height and footprint length of the subjects. The standard error of the estimate was 4.6815 in males and 5.081 in females. The study revealed a highly significant degree of correlation between the measurements of footprint lengths and stature.