One of the latest rages this year has been the so-called “toning” shoes, such as those from Masai Barefoot Technology (MBT), Skechers Shape-Ups and Reebook Easy Tones – but now the American Council on Exercise (ACE), the largest non-profit fitness certification, education and training organization in the world has given those shoes a thumbs down. This week ACE released the findings of an independent research study, which suggests that there is no evidence that the shoes help wearers exercise more intensely or burn more calories.
The study, which is reportedly one of the first from an independent organization further enlisted a team of researchers from the Exercise and Health Programs at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse.
“Toning shoes appear to promise a quick-and-easy fitness solution, which we realize people are always looking for,” says ACE’s Chief Science Officer Cedric X. Bryant, Ph.D. “Unfortunately, these shoes do not deliver the fitness or muscle toning benefits they claim. Our findings demonstrate that toning shoes are not the magic solution consumers were hoping they would be, and simply do not offer any benefits that people cannot reap through walking, running or exercising in traditional athletic shoes.”
However, Katherine Hobson, who contributes to the Health Blog for The Wall Street Journal offered a bit of commentary on this release:
“It should be noted that ACE is a nonprofit that certifies a lot of fitness pros who would be out of a job if we could all get fit without working out. ACE says it commissioned the study but that it was independently designed and conducted.”
Skechers also disagrees and has posted a website that includes results from four clinical case studies. In other words, the debate will rage on.
Wall Street Journal: American Council on Exercise: Study Finds Toning Shoes Don’t Work