Hookworm (like other parasites) can be a pretty serious public health problem. It’s great that hookworm is way down in the USA, and tragic that it still affects

Hookworm (like other parasites) can be a pretty serious public health problem. It’s great that hookworm is way down in the USA, and tragic that it still affects 400+ million people around the world, and makes many of them anemic, causes brain problems, etc., especially since (from my understanding) it is pretty easy to treat with medication. I’m curious to what extent the decline of hookworm in the US South can be attributed to better sanitation and healthcare and increasing urbanization vs. footwear per se. On the other hand, poor people in the US South now have a shocking rate of obesity (in some places >50%), because they now spend little time walking around outside, spend much of the day sitting, and eat an unhealthy diet (probably not an exhaustive list of contributing factors). From what I can tell the public health impact of pervasive obesity can be just as serious as parasites like hookworm. * * * If someone plans to live in a tropical rural village somewhere that people habitually defecate outdoors, wearing shoes might be a reasonable precaution. For most people reading this website though, being barefoot isn’t going to harm their children.