First it was Barefoot Running. Now it’s the “Toning Shoes.”
Is there a footwear fad that American can’t get behind? A couple of months ago, I started seeing them everywhere: those funny sneakers with the rounded bottoms. They were otherwise normal looking people wearing some really odd looking shoes. Even Chuck Norris was getting into the act, hawking these shoes on television. (Okay. Maybe Chuck’s not the best example of “normal” but bear with me here.)
Like so many fitness fads that have come before, the reports of danger come following after. The Boston Globe reports:
A study released Wednesday by the nonprofit American Council on Exercise found that toning shoes failed to live up to promises made by manufacturers. “Toning shoes appear to promise a quick-and-easy fitness solution, which we realize people are always looking for,’’ Cedric X. Bryant, the council’s chief science officer, said in the report. “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.’’