I did some Internet research regarding walking shoes for the obese. Besides the weight, I have bone on bone knees that make walking or standing long periods very painful. I'd never heard of Drew shoes before --- they were mentioned on a forum I belong to so I sought them out. They are unquestionably the best shoes I've found --- and I've tried Spira with their springs.

A real plus is the hook and loop straps are plenty long enough. The Spira shoes I tried - I had to spend an extra $30 to have the local shoe shop add length to the top straps to because they wouldn't reach.

For anyone of considerable size I'd highly recommend these. I'll be buying more.