At an estimated 6 feet tall and 110 pounds, she'd be severely underweight with a BMI of 14.9, but that didn't stop fashion bigwig Christian Louboutin from calling Barbie "fat" -- well, her ankles, anyway. And she'll need to do something about those cankles -- which are currently 22 millimeters in diameter -- if she wants to score herself a pair of Louboutin's famous red-soled stilettos. Louboutin has insisted on having the iconic doll's legs re-shaped by the shoe designer before he'll unveil his special collection -- designed exclusively for her -- next year.

But like a good sport, Barbie's not offended. "My dear friend Christian loves my ankles. It was my arch that he wanted to give a little lift to, so I can rock those high heels," she said in a recent statement issued by her manufacturer, Mattel.

According to Urban Dictionary, a cankle is "an ankle of a fat person in which the ankle and the calf appear seamless." She's definitely not fat, but come to think of it, she doesn't really have much separation between her foot and calf. What do you think? Does Barbie have cankles?

Louboutin's not the only designer in hot water -- Karl Lagerfeld says that no one wants to see curvy models.

OK, I may have been a bit hasty in my zeal to run on the beach during my vacation last week. I was so enthusiastic that I even wrote a Fitku about beach running. But the results weren't pretty.

Actually, I slightly exaggerate, because I wasn't all that sore, but I could tell my ankles and calves weren't used to the workout that they got from running on the sand. So I began wondering: Is there a way to prepare your calves and ankles for running in the sand?

Anyone who's ever had a problem with their knees, ankles, hips or another joint -- whether serious or not -- knows the importance of keeping your joints healthy. After all, without they're what keep you moving. So do something good for your joints by following these tips from Everyday Health:

• Keep your body at a healthy weight -- excess weight puts unnecessary stress on joints.
  
• Get regular exercise to build muscle around your joints
• Be cautious when doing heavy lifting
• Don't ignore pain -- talk to your doctor about it
• Move frequently -- don't spend too much time in one position unless necessary
• Wear wrist pads and knee pads when doing activities that might lead to injury.
  

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As a tomboy of sorts, I rarely wear high (or even moderately elevated) heals. I prefer my converse sneakers and my flip flops. But there's no denying that when I put them on, I feel pretty good about myself-- they're an instant confidence booster. There's also no denying that after a few hours of teetering above my wedges, my feet hurt. A lot. What's a girl to do?

This article has some helpful suggestions, including:

• Save heels for special occasions
• Avoid backless heals as they cause your toes to clench, which leads to muscle strain
• Some calf stretches can do wonders for your legs.
  
• Vary the height of your heals and don't wear ones higher than 4cm for daily use.
• Visit a chiropodist or podiatrist
• Also? Use a tennis ball to massage sore feet.
• Get your significant other to massage your feet .... if you can!

What do you for your aching feet?

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Despite the heat and overwhelming humidity I ran nearly six and a half miles last Saturday. Today I will attempt to run over seven. I am, folks, living proof that you CAN get back into shape, even if you haven't run in a year. That's right--I stopped running sometime in June of 2006...I think. In fact, once I started running again it had been so long that I could no longer remember when I'd stopped.

To aid me in my quest to get back into shape, this week I bought new running shoes. For me, running shoes are the bane of my existence. I have a total love/hate relationship with such shoes. I need them to speed me along my course, to protect me feet and to give me a little extra bounce when I need it most (which, er, is always, especially these days when I'm carrying a little extra weight around).

I hate them because they never ever fit. I have horribly hard to fit feet. Or, at least, I thought I did. I need a wide toes box because the balls of my feet are rather wide for my otherwise slender foot. My ankles are ridiculously small so I need something that basically latches onto my Achilles tendon so the shoes don't slip.

Somewhere in the land of time before I got pregnant I spent what seemed like hours with a very helpful, professional young man who was a runner himself and who was more determined than I was to find me the right shoe. Previous to my encounter with him I'd spent the same amount of hours online trying to track down the same shoe I'd been running in for years, which, it turned out, even though I thought they were a great fit, were not right for my feet.

I sprained my ankle about a year ago and one of the hardest things to get used to (besides using crutches) was taking a break from my workout routine. Most people would welcome the imposed laziness but I was really into going to the gym and when I'm tin the mindframe to go to the gym, I don't want to mess with that -- fore soon, I'll be a full-blown couch potato if I don't keep up with my workouts.

My sprain was a result of my overwhelming clumsiness, but it's surprisingly easy to injure yourself while working out. Don't let an injury sideline you -- here are some tips for avoiding injuries:

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Choosing the right sneaker is one of the most important components of surviving a great workout without any injuries. Just as a mouthpiece is vital to a boxer, proper footwear is important to you. I've seen folks running in basketball shoes and doing dance aerobics in running shoes. Both cases are an injury waiting to happen.

Nowadays, we walk into a shoe store and see a zillion different shoe types: runners, cross trainers, cleats, high tops, low tops, all terrain, etc. Why so many? We didn't used to have so many options. Sneakers were sneakers and that was that. Well, research and technology is your answer. Now that we know better, we do better. Each shoe is now specifically designed to provide support in places where certain activities cause the most shock. I'm listing a few examples, and before you read the supporting text. Think about what each athlete's feet and ankles endure.

Runners. Every time a runner takes a step, three times his/her body weight is impacting down on each foot. That is why there are often gigantic air pockets on the bottom of each shoe. Running shoes are created so that both your heel and forefoot are extremely supported with padding. The bottom tread is rough to grab the road and help prevent slipping. This shoe is light so the weight of each shoe doesn't hinder the users performance. Runners are normally only moving forward, so lateral ankle support of a high top is unnecessary.