Wonder runners burn up fat
Gina Teel

Imagine taking a rubber ball, cutting it in half and affixing it, curved side down, to the bottom of a pair of running shoes. Then imagine taking a walk in them.

The rolling sensation from midfoot to toe would be similar to the effect of Masai Barefoot Technology, a line of chunky and somewhat unattractive footwear that's flying off store shelves across North America despite a $329 price tag.

"It's not just a shoe, it's a piece of exercise equipment," said Greg Engen, owner of Calgary's Foot Solutions, one of two stores in Canada selling the hot new MBT line of footwear.

"When you stand up in them, your pelvis straightens out and you'll be standing much straighter. When you first start walking in them, give it about 10 to 15 minutes and you'll start to feel the burn."


Designed a decade ago by Swiss engineer Karl Muller to help ease back pain and foot problems, the Masai is considered a medical aid in Switzerland and Germany.

But it's the MBT's reputation as a cellulite-buster in the U.K. that's won it legions of new fans in North America - including Bliss Spa founder and former Calgarian Marcia Kilgore, who sells them in her catalogue as the anti-cellulite sneaker - even though there's no scientific data to back up the anti-flab anecdotes flowing from the lips of MBT aficionados.


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Benno Nigg, director of the human performance lab at the University of Calgary, is studying the biomechanical benefits of MBT shoes on the body.

The lab devotes about 20 per cent of its time to improving footwear for such sportswear giants as Addidas, Nike and Mizuno, and developed the technology for the Addidas PredatorPulse used by English soccer superstar David Beckham.

As to the cellulite claim, Nigg shrugs, noting cellulite is not his specialty.

However in a study completed last month, Nigg found that MBT shoes reduced the joint loading on the hips and knees compared to conventional running shoes - and that means less pain.

"I have so many people that have pain in the joints and they use the shoe for two days and they come back and say they don't believe it, because the pain is not there," he said, cautioning such comments as anecdotal.

The study financed by the shoe company, showed that oxygen consumption was 2.5 per cent higher in subjects wearing MBT shoes, but Nigg said that could be because the shoes weigh 300 grams more than normal running shoes and require more energy to use.

The shoes appear to be beneficial even when standing. The wobble-board effect of the shoes is essentially constant training for the muscles, Nigg said, making them beneficial for high performance athletes in training.

The MBT is named after the Masai tribe of East Africa because the shoe's rolling front-to-back action supposedly mimics their stride, something the company believes is as close as it gets to biomechanical perfection in humans.

The theory goes that the Masai's stride naturally leads to improved posture and relief from joint pain. Apparently the Masai also have no cellulite.

The stride is so unlike the flat-footed controlled movement humans are used to that the MBT's come with an instructional manual. Staff selling the shoes must take a training course.

Engen said walking in the shoes increases circulation, and that may help to break up fatty deposits.

However, he's up front with his clients about the lack of scientific evidence supporting the anti-cellulite claim - but that hasn't slowed sales.

He's getting call from customers as far away as Los Angeles, where the shoes are on back order. A customer from Texas has a pair on hold, and is scheduled to pick them up when she's in town for the Stampede, he said.

His customers range from sufferers of knee pain, to athletes, to retail workers and, yes, women specifically wanting to get rid of cellulite.

"I've had dozens of calls on that one," he said.

The MBT line included three unisex styles, casual, sport and sandals, the latter being the least offensive esthetically

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