Comparison of Oxygen and Energy Consumption between Running with Researcher-Made Beach Simulator Shoes and Sports Shoes with PU Soles.

Obese and overweight individuals strive to burn more calories per unit of time through walking, which is one of their main goals.  The necessity of walking with shoes with the capability of burning more calories per unit of time compared to common shoes was very noticeable. This research aimed to compare oxygen and energy consumption between running with biomechanical beach simulator shoes and sports shoes with polyurethane soles in overweight women. In this semi-experimental and applied research, 16 overweight women were selected. A researcher-developed beach simulator shoe enhances muscle activation in the lower limbs and abdomen through two main mechanisms and by using the specialized knowledge of sports biomechanics. Consequently, this enhancement leads to increased oxygen and energy consumption compared to common walking shoes. The test protocol consisted of three stages with speeds of 3, 5, and 7 km/h on the treadmill, each stage lasting 3 minutes. The statistics related to oxygen and energy consumption were collected by Metamax gas analyzer and through calculations. The statistical method of Two-way analysis of variance test with repeated measures was used to test the hypotheses and analyze the data at a significance level of 0.05. The findings showed that the beach simulator shoes can significantly increase oxygen and energy consumption in overweight women (significant levels of 0.05 and 0.03 respectively). According to the findings of the present research, the beach simulator shoe was able to increase the oxygen and energy consumption of a person by using two layers of balls and hydrodynamics, compared to sports shoes with PU soles. Beach simulator shoes were able to burn more calories per unit of time than PU sports shoes.