The killer heels fad lingers in Korea this spring, with many young women forcing their feet into shoes with heels over 10 cm high. They are thought to make their legs look shapelier, but experts say the higher the heel, the worse they are for feet and spine.

An X-ray of a person wearing an 11-cm heel shows the ankle positioned far forward, aligning it with the instep in an almost I-shape. In running shoes, the ankle and instep form an L. The toes looked crooked.

Doctors say wearing high heels increases the risk of arthritis because body weight is not evenly distributed and falls disproportionately on the inner and front knees. Yoo Jong-yoon, a doctor at Asan Medical Center in Seoul, said, "Because it is difficult to balance when wearing high heels, the body weight moves forward to the front of the feet, and the balance of the upper body moves to the back. This might cause the spine to curve backward."