Heel-toe runners rejoice鈥攜our form likely saves you serious time over a midfoot or forefoot stride. In the search for speed, a new study published in than the biomechanically similar midfoot and forefoot strides.

Researchers at the University of Le贸n set out to measure the energy economy and biomechanics of 20 subelite runners, half with rearfoot strides and half with midfoot. The results showed the heel-striking group to be up to 9 percent more efficient than the midfoot group.

As much as that might surprise runners after recent research showed the opposite, it shocked the study鈥檚 lead author, PhD candidate Ana Ogueta-Alday, even more.

A body of research supports the contention that forefoot and midfoot runners have an advantage over rearfoot runners. One of the most-cited studies

鈥淗owever, when I started my PhD and doing the tests with the runners,鈥� says Ogueta-Alday, 鈥淚 saw that it was completely different.鈥�

A key difference for Ogueta-Alday鈥檚 study is that both types of runners were tested in real world conditions, at equal speeds that are more relatable for average racers: 8:47, 7:26, and 6:26 minutes per mile. At the higher and lower speed, the heel-strikers were 5 percent and 5.4 percent more efficient, and then 9.3 percent better at the middle pace.

鈥淲ith the cost of energy that a forefoot [subject] needed to run, at a fixed speed, they could be running 1 km/h faster,鈥� says Ogueta-Alday. That鈥檚 the equivalent of dropping from a 7:30 minute mile pace to 7:00 flat.

Ogueta-Alday believes the reason for the improved efficiency stems from the increased ground contact time the study observed in rearfoot strikers. More contact time with the ground allows for more force to be applied, while also decreasing the metabolic cost of running.

These findings don鈥檛 mean sprinters, or other speed demons, should switch stride. Ogueta-Alday points out that the study only looked at 鈥渟low speeds鈥� and acknowledges that at faster paces require shorter contact times.

鈥淚t seems clear that forefoot strike is important to run fast,鈥� she adds. And though Ogueta-Alday can鈥檛 tell where the tipping point between the two worlds of footstrike is, she said that running sub-5-minute miles or faster was likely more efficient with a midfoot stride.

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Being skinny doesn鈥檛 mean you鈥檙e fit鈥攐r even healthy. found that men and women of normal weight but with high blood pressure and cholesterol levels are at risk for heart events just as dire as the obese.

The reason a thin waist is no saving grace, explains the Mayo Clinic鈥檚 Dr. Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, is that 鈥攎ore than 25 percent body weight in men, 35 percent for women.

Essentially, fat matters even if you don鈥檛 appear fat, says Dr. Lopez-Jimenez, whose main area of study is in what he calls the 鈥渟kinny obese.鈥�

鈥淓xcess fat affects metabolism in ways that make it harder to use insulin and other hormones effectively,鈥� explains James O. Hill, Ph.D. Executive Director, of the University of Colorado鈥檚 Anschutz Health and Wellness Center. 鈥淭his leads to metabolic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and kidney disease.鈥�

The study also dispelled any myths of being both obese and healthy. At first, there appeared to be a group of obese subjects who were at low risk of cardiac event and death鈥攕tatistically similar to the healthy and normal weight folks. But when the researchers dug deeper, only looking at data with 10 years of follow up, all overweight and obese subjects appeared to have greater health risks.

It鈥檚 possible for an obese person to appear metabolically healthy and at low risk for heart disease, but being overweight and healthy isn鈥檛 a permanent station, says Hill.

What鈥檚 more, even if an obese patient registered low blood pressure and healthy cholesterol, there are more risks than heart disease; for starters, degenerative joint disease. The health of your hips, ankles, and, especially, knees, are imperiled by excess pounds.

And though the first response to turn your health around鈥攚hether you鈥檙e normal weight or obese鈥攚ould seem to be weight loss, that鈥檚 actually secondary by doctor鈥檚 order.

鈥淵our first priority is to become active,鈥� says Lopez-Jimenez. 鈥淚f somebody is obese but very active, the risk for heart attacks is same or lower than sedentary skinny person.鈥�

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