Using your shoe size, how "in" the footwear is and even how much you plan to drink, a British physicist devised a healthy guideline for safely stepping out. "It's not supposed to be taken too seriously," says Paul Stevenson, a physicist at the University of Surrey who normally researches the structure of atomic nuclei. But when Dianne Stilwell, the University's Institute of Physics public relations specialist and a high-heel fan, asked him to put some science behind women's stilettos, he couldn't resist. "She asked me if I could come up with some way a physicist might describe walking in high heels," he says. "This was the result."

The basic formula is : H = Q X [12 + (3 X S/8)]. H is the maximum heel height, in centimeters. Q is the sociological factor and S is the shoe size; it must be a good enough base of support to keep you upright. The Q factor of the formula--a formula unto itself, and more subjective than mathematical--encompasses several variables and gets a bit complicated. To further decode: P is the probability the shoes will land you a date or other flattering attention. L is the price of the shoes, in British pounds. T is the time elapsed since the shoe was the height of fashion (zero means it's red-hot). A is the units of alcohol consumed while wearing the shoe. Y is the years of experience wearing high heels. Here, Q = [P X L X (Y + 9)] / [(T + 1) X (A + 1) X (Y + 10) X (L + 20)}.

A woman podiatrist who occasionally wears high heels laughs at the formula but doesn't discount it. "I think the formula is great," says Kathleen Stone, a member of the board of trustees for the American Podiatric Medical Association. "It's a fun way to look at high heels," she says, although certain parts of the formula, such as the shoe size, are more scientific than others.

Stone recommends different height of heels to her women patients, depending on the planned activity. "For daytime, I recommend an inch to an inch and a half," she says. "For anything fun, where you are not going to be standing on your feet all night, you can go higher." But not too high, she warns. "Three-inch heels are dangerous," she says. They throw the body off balance and boost the risk for a fall. "I've seen women fall off three-inch heels and get injured," she says.

Source: Kathleen Doheny, Health-Central.com