SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Sports Act. Living
Sec. Elite Sports and Performance Enhancement
Metabolic Effects of Carbon-Plated Running Shoes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Provisionally accepted
- 1Faculdade de Ciencias Medicas da Santa Casa de Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- 2Irmandade da Santa Casa de Misericordia de Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- 3Hospital Alemao Oswaldo Cruz, São Paulo, Brazil
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Background: Advanced Footwear Technology (AFT) commonly combines compliant, resilient foams with a full-length carbon fiber plate that increases longitudinal bending stiffness (LBS). Whether the plate itself yields metabolic benefits remains debated. Objective: To quantify the effect of carbon plates on metabolic demand during running. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of crossover trials comparing plated vs. non-plated running shoes in healthy adults. Databases (MEDLINE, Scopus, LILACS, EMBASE) were searched in September 2025. Outcomes were running economy (mL·kg⁻¹·km⁻¹), metabolic cost (W·kg⁻¹), oxygen consumption (mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹), and energetic cost of transport (J·kg⁻¹·m⁻¹). Random-effects models estimated mean differences (MD). Results: Fourteen studies met inclusion; pooled analyses showed statistically significant reductions favoring plated shoes for running economy (MD −5.34 mL·kg⁻¹·km⁻¹; 95% CI −8.48 to −2.20), metabolic cost (MD −0.38 W·kg⁻¹; 95% CI −0.59 to −0.16), oxygen consumption (MD −1.23 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹; 95% CI −1.82 to −0.63), and energetic cost of transport (SMD −0.37 J·kg⁻¹·m⁻¹; 95% CI −0.71 to −0.03). Expressed as percentage change, plated footwear lowered metabolic demand by ~2–3% across outcomes (mean −2.75%; range −0.99% to −4.47%). Certainty of evidence was moderate for running economy, metabolic cost, and oxygen consumption, and low for energetic cost of transport (downgraded for indirectness and, for ECOT, imprecision). Conclusions: In adults, carbon plated footwear reduces metabolic demand during submaximal running by ≈2-3%. While concurrent AFT features likely contribute, the pooled evidence supports an association between carbon plated footwear and reduced metabolic demand, though causality cannot be attributed to the plate alone. Future trials that orthogonally manipulate plate presence and foam properties, while matching mass, stack, and outsole, are needed to isolate plate-specific effects and define plate design parameters that optimize energy transfer across runner body mass. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42024520736.
Keywords: carbon fiber plate, longitudinal bending stiffness, advanced footwear technology, Running economy, metabolic cost, Oxygen Consumption, energetic cost of transport, endurance performance
Received: 22 Sep 2025; Accepted: 10 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kobayashi, Toledo, Almeida, Sprey and Jorge. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Eiki Nicholas Kobayashi
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.