Peak pressure and temporal parameters of foot function were determined in 21 men and 11 women; few differences between men and women in any of the parameters were observed, either when walking barefoot or when wearing shoes. However, significant differences were observed when barefoot and shod walking were compared. The main influence of shoes appears to be in modifying the behaviour of the forefoot, by changing the pressure distribution across the metatarsal heads and increasing the contact times for the toes. The implications of such changes are discussed. Intersubject variability in the pattern and magnitude of the peak pressure distributions under the foot, which appear to be consistent in both the short and long term, may prove to be of importance in the clinical environment, by providing an individual baseline from which change can be measured. A new measure, the pressure-time integral, could be a more valuable single measure than either the peak pressure or the temporal parameters.