"Toning Shoes" or Phony Shoes?

Submitted by Anne Landman on

Reebok Shape-upsThose roly-poly sneakers you are seeing everywhere -- with rounded soles like a rocking chair -- are marketed by manufacturers like Skechers, Reebok, Avia and New Balance with claims that they promote healthy weight loss, improve posture, fight cellulite, reduce knee joint stress and improve the shape of wearers' thighs and buttocks. The customer base for the shoes is 90 percent women, and they sell for $100 to $250, They also represent the fastest-growing segment of the athletic footwear industry. Skechers even hired Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana to tout the shoes in an effort to entice more men to buy them. But doctors are starting to warn that the shoes destabilize how people walk, and wearing them can strain people's Achilles tendons. The shoes can also be a special threat to older people who have more difficulty keeping their balance. Their built-in instability makes a wearer work harder to maintain balance, giving more of a workout, according to companies that make them, and while there are some elements of truth to the ads, doctors question their safety and want more independent studies of the shoes instead of industry-financed research. Meanwhile, David Davidson, national president of the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine, says "Nothing about these shoes has any redeeming value to me," and he says he's suspicious of any shoes that come with an instructional booklet and DVD.

Main Source: 
USA Today, June 30, 2010
Topics: 
Advertising
Health
Marketing

Comments

Jeremy Streeton replied on

This shoes have no therapeutic claims.
They're just good for display.
You can get fit with just any other shoes.

Alibaba replied on

Fitflop sandals fall in that category of sandals. These sandals help the wearer lose weight and maintain healthy posture while walking. These sandals are helpful in toning the muscles of your feet, legs, and buttocks. They further help in reducing wear and tear, the main cause of injuries of the lower extremities. If you find it difficult to spare time for being at the gym regularly, your best bet is to go for Fitfop sandals to help you tone your muscles and burn fat.

Iron Rich Foods replied on

... shoes that come with a DVD... just another marketing ploy. People need to focus more on basic things to improve their health like exercise and a balanced diet rather then fall for silly gimmicks...

chiropody4all replied on

I still prefer a good exercise than buying this expensive pair of shoes.

Anonymous replied on

Great post, you might just have saved me a fair bit of money. It's easy to get seduced by these kinds of products. Long live the internet for saving us from them!

Rob.

katlopez replied on

At a glance the shoes looks classy and fashionable. But I doubt the stability like the experts do. The soles are too high and too thick making it unstable when used I think. Though I won't be victimized by these kind of shoes first and foremost because I can't afford to waste that much money on shoes and second thing is I prefer simple design shoes. Sometimes non-branded shoes perform best.

Tude Pangal replied on

After hearing some positive comments on these shoes, I decided to go to a store and try them on to see what the hype was all about. Other than the fact that you bounce a little when you walk with them (I'll bet one must look sort of funny while doing that), I didn't notice anything that would even remotely justify the price tag.
The sales associate I talked with told me it's mostly women who buy them, which is why they only had a couple of models in mens' shoes.
I decided that until I am convinced that they really do work miracles (as far as low back pain goes), I'll hold off on this purchase/investment and stick with my old-fashioned exercises. Most likely though, as in all areas of life, dramatic results and changes come with consistent work, rather than with the purchase of a pair of shoes. Just an opinion.

Anonymous replied on

I went to buy the Sketchers brand when they first came out and I noticed, right away, that my ankles pronated. Now that can't be good, right?

I get the balancing...I know that works lots of muscles...but I don't think that walking briskly, balancing, annnnnd trying not to turn or sprain one's ankle is a healthful regime.

So I bought the Reebok brand instead, lower and cheaper at the time. I use them about once a week. I find that they provide (my legs, shins and feet) a real workout. But they also do something strange to my hips.* The next morning my hip feels a little 'out of place.'

These footwear mfrs, exercise equipment companies, and supplement makers are just out for the almighty dollar$. We consumers must be VERY, VERY CAREFUL!

*(I injured one of them using Tony Little's Gazelle contraption. aauuuggghhh)

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