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Federal Trade Commission Sues Gravity Defyer for Making Baseless Pain-Relief Claims

Press Release:

The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against California-based Gravity Defyer Medical Technology Corporation and its owner Alexander Elnekaveh, filing a complaint in federal district court to permanently stop their allegedly deceptive pain-relief claims for Gravity Defyer footwear.

In a complaint filed in federal district court, the FTC alleged that Elnekaveh violated a 2001 order barring him from such allegedly deceptive advertising by making scientifically unsupported claims and using misleading consumer testimonials to sell Gravity Defyer products. The FTC claimed that the company’s advertisements often targeted older Americans suffering from pain-related conditions like arthritis.

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High genetic running capacity promotes efficient metabolism with aging

Press release:

High running capacity is associated with health and longevity. However, whether high genetic running capacity promotes more efficient metabolism with aging is not known. A new study conducted in collaboration between the universities of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China) and Jyväskylä (Finland) investigated the effects of genetic running capacity and aging on tissue metabolism. The study reveals that adipose tissue may have a key role in healthy aging.

Running capacity, expressed as aerobic capacity, refers to an individual’s capacity to utilize oxygen and is known to decrease with age, thereby affecting the whole body metabolism and health.

“We currently lack the information whether high genetic aerobic capacity promotes healthier metabolism in different tissues as we age,” explains Academy of Finland postdoctoral researcher Sira Karvinen from the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Finland.

To study the question, animal models of high-capacity runners (HCR) and low-capacity runners (LCR) were utilized. These rodent lines differ in their aerobic capacity genetically. Samples of serum, muscle and adipose tissue were harvested from young and aged animals to explore the tissue metabolites.

“According to our results, high genetic running capacity was associated with more efficient amino acid metabolism in skeletal muscle. Inefficient amino acid metabolism is linked to increased adiposity and risk of metabolic diseases,” says Karvinen.

High genetic running capacity and aging interactively affected lipid metabolism in muscle and adipose tissue, possibly contributing to healthier metabolism with aging.

The results suggest that adipose tissue may have a more significant role in promoting healthy aging than previously thought. According to the current literature, around 50% of an individual’s aerobic capacity is genetically inherited and the other 50% can be gained via physical activity.

“Regular exercise promotes health whether you have genetically high or low aerobic capacity. Hence, it is highly recommended to promote one’s metabolism with exercise especially at older age, when aerobic capacity as well as other health parameters decline,” says the principal investigator, Professor Heikki Kainulainen from the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Finland.

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Where did the toning shoes go?

They did not go anywhere, they are just not a prominent today as they once were.

The toning shoes (or more likely called the unstable footwear today) were that category of footwear that made extraordinary promises that were not and have not been supported by the evidence. The shoes tend to have a rocker under the sole that makes them unstable. Because of this instability, the muscles work harder and the gait is different. It was claimed that this could cure cellulite (it can’t) and increases your exercise to give you a tone up (again unsubstantiated by the actual evidence). All this resulted in litigation and fines from regulatory agencies for false advertising.

All that did not mean that the category of footwear did not have some use. The very nature of toning shoes is that they have some sort of rocker on the sole which can be quite useful for people with osteoarthritis in the first metatarsophalangeal joint. The change is gait reportedly help some people with postural and low back problems, and can also make worse some people, so some trial and error was needed to see if they can help. More research needs to be done to see who they can best help and what the indications may be.

Do not write the toning shoes off just because of the litigation and embarrassing celebratory endorsements they used to have. They do have their uses.