So, I do NOT LIKE seeing anyone wearing "shape up" shoes....

So, I am sitting getting a pedicure, and I watch a lady get up from a manicure, and her balance is whacked, she is what seems to be in a range of healthy weight, but cant walk a straight lie - drunk at 1:00pm on  Friday before Labor Day weekend, O.K., maybe. As she teeters past me I look down, and she has the thickest pair of "toning" shoes on I have ever seen....
WTF, am I the only one who sees how horrible this is? Am I the only one who notices this, well ummmmm yes actually I am. So immediately, I grab my phone, I know, I know, and look up articles on how bad these shoes are for you. Now, we in the CF community already know, but how do I tell a middle aged woman with three kids pulling on her while she tries to get her nails done, that her shoes are literally shit??? Ha, well you all know me, so I read a few minutes on the Internet about everything, and I know this comes as a shock to you, I just literally said, "You know those shoes are really bad for you?!?!?!"
Well, shockingly, she launched into a 1000 reasons why they are good, and I simply asked when the last time was she walked barefoot in her own grass, she gave me a look of horror, and said "I don't, it hurts my ankles and calves." Of course the slack jaw look of shock and disbelief on my face did not help, but I handed her a piece of paper with the few sites I read about law suits etc, and weakning of the OMG, calves, knees, ankles and hips from wearing those shoes. I slipped her my card too, well I still haven't heard anything from her, but I feel better.

So, here you go from the Huntington Post.


Toning Shoes -- An Exercise Benefit or a Health Hazard?

Toning shoes – also called wellness shoes and rocker bottom shoes – are athletic shoes with an unstable sole.

The shoes may have a rounded sole that increases the heel-to-toe motion of the foot.

Toning shoe manufacturers promote their products with alluring claims of muscle benefits and the shoes' ability to slim calves and legs. Toning shoe companies state their products increase muscle activation, improve balance and stimulate the metabolism. The market for toning shoes started off with a bang. Spurred by the testimonials of famous athletes and celebrities, various brands are now offered to health-conscious consumers, including MBTs, Skechers Shape-ups, Reebok Easy Tones, Keds Sport, New Balance and Crocs.

However, a study conducted by exercise scientists has found no evidence that toning shoes provide any significant benefit over traditional athletic shoes. In fact, knowledgeable medical experts advise that toning shoes actually pose major risks.

Indeed, it is well recognized in the orthopedic community that anything that impacts your gait may cause harm to your bones, muscles and joints. Regrettably, the toning shoe manufacturers ignored this literature and failed to conduct adequate safety studies to demonstrate that wearing these shoes is safe. Toning shoes' built-in instability can increase the risk of stress fractures, falling and fall injuries. The shoes are especially risky for elderly people, diabetics and those with poor balance, vertigo, lack of feeling in their feet or chronically weak ankles.

Many injuries have occurred to nurses, health care providers, waiters and others in the service industries as the toning shoe manufacturers have specifically targeted these groups in their marketing campaigns. 

On May 16, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission reached a $40 million settlement with Skechers for its unsubstantiated claims regarding health and fitness benefits that it made while marketing its Shape-Ups toning shoes. After extensive investigations, the FTC determined that Skechers manipulated and “cherry-picked results” from studies to support its claims. The FTC warned Skechers “to shape up your substantiation or tone down your claims.” As a part of its settlement, Skechers is prohibited from making any further claims as to the health and fitness benefits provided by its toning shoes unless those claims are “true and backed by scientific evidence.