yeah i see that. I guess it's supposed to encourage people to be more detailed and comprehensive. But at least people don't feel the need to post how many stars they give something or say "subscribed" all the time or go on and on about how many reputation points they are giving out. I can't get to through a thread with all that....I give up in disgust.
But back on point
Here are some of the proposed benefits to sumo:
1. Greater range of knee extension at the bottom of the lift.
2. A more upright posture.
3. The distance the weight must be moved is greatly reduced.
4. The bar path is kept closer to the body, thus making the levers more efficient.
Less shear forces of course but no real difference in compressive forces. It takes less power output supposedly for the sumo due to the lesser distance traveled. Interestingly analysis have shown no real difference in the time factor between sumo and conventional lifters.
But you can talk about biomechanical effeciency all you want and it doesn't mean that one way or another will automatically be better for any one person. Lots of people trying sumo will be losing a lot of pounds on it no matter how hard they try, and vice versa.