The connection between anthropometry and gait harmony unveiled through the lens of the golden ratio

In nature, many systems have a harmonic organization due to their fractal structure related to an irra-tional number called golden ratio. That is a constant proportion found in phases of human gait cycle,and is also found in the lengths of human body segments. In this study we tested if artificial alterationsin anthropometric proportions may alter gait proportions. Twenty healthy subjects (29.15 ± 5.66 years)were enrolled in this study and asked to walk normally and with special shoes altering their anthropo-metric proportions. Further, to test if the relationship between gait phases and anthropometry could bedue to the pendular mechanism of walking, subjects were also asked to walk with extra masses locatedon their shanks. Results showed that the artificial alteration of body segment proportions affected thegait ratio based on the proportion of time between stance and swing (p = 0.015). Conversely, no changesoccurred during walking in weighted condition (p = 0.394). These results confirm the connection betweenanthropometric proportions and gait ratio, and suggest the idea that humans may have evolved into theactual anthropometric proportions for favoring a walking having a golden ratio based harmony, butresearch is required to verify this hypothesis.