Why Waist Training Is A Bad Idea

[summer]

www.yahoo.com/health/why-waist-training-is-a-really-really-bad-idea-120455530897.html

When photos of celebrities wearing body-shaping corsets to slim down their waists first began to crop up last year, it seemed like the kind of trend that would fizzle out quickly. Surely no rational person would pick back up where Victorian England left off, not with all the core-toning options available in the modern world (hello, ab workouts!).



But the waist-training obsession has not died down. If anything, it’s picked up steam in recent months, with its popularity extending beyond a few Instagram snaps from the girls of Keeping Up With the Kardashians and Jersey Shore. Even Jessica Alba has come out as a fan, telling Net-A-Porter that post-pregnancy, she “wore a double corset day and night for three months. It was sweaty, but worth it.” (The interview has since been removed from Net-A-Porter, but information about it is still available on Shape.)





It’s not hard to see why waist training has taken off: All you have to do is strap the thing on — whether it’s a rigid corset or a flexible fabric wrap — and try not to pass out. It’s a low-effort trick that promises to slim your waist and “train” your curves.



Here’s the thing, though: “Wearing a corset won’t make you lose fat around your waist,” Holly Phillips, MD, a New York City-based internist, tells Yahoo Health.



Plus, the results don’t mimic those of surgery or laser treatments, as some fans claim, notes Andrew Miller, MD, a New York City-based plastic surgeon. “The corset itself doesn’t have any direct effect on your fat or anatomy,” Miller tells Yahoo Health. “If you stopped wearing a corset, eventually you’re just going to return to the way you were.”




Even though wearing a waist trainer can feel uncomfortable and won’t make any lasting difference on your body, “they’re usually not harmful” when worn for a short amount of time, Phillips notes. However, if you’re wearing one for days, weeks, or even months at a time like Khloe Kardashian or Jessica Alba, you put yourself at risk for a whole host of health problems.





First up: acid reflux. “Some people think of it as external gastric bypass surgery,” Phillips explains, because your stomach is so compressed that you can’t take more than a few bites of food at a time. “Anyone who doesn’t eat as much is going to lose weight,” Miller echoes. That said, you will have a hard time digesting the food you do eat due to the pressure on your organs. “You’re compressing your stomach so much that when you take a bite of food, you end up with acid reflux,” says Phillips.



Using a corset to waist train can also cause bruising of your bones, which some may mistake as their bones moving or their ribcages tightening. “What is a myth is that you can change your bone structure by wearing them,” Phillips explains. “For [adult] women, your bones are formed. You can bruise them and harm them, but you can’t change them.” A waist trainer won’t slim down a wide ribcage — it’ll just leave it bruised, or worse.





An even greater risk lies with your lungs. “Wearing for a long amount of time makes it hard to breathe, so you’re taking more shallow breaths,” Phillips says. That can leave you with an oxygen shortage and causes a loss of consciousness, among other dangers. “It’s not good for many different things, including your energy levels,” Phillips explains. It can also “lead to fluid in the lungs,” putting you at risk for pulmonary edema or pneumonia.



Wearing a waist trainer can also “decrease blood flow in your veins, cause problems with blood clots, and put more pressure on your heart,” Miller adds. “There are definitely medical issues that could be a problem if you over-tighten.”



There are even more chilling side effects documented as well, says Phillips: “There have been some cases recorded of harming the spleen or causing trouble to kidneys.”



In case you need to hear it one more time, here’s Phillips’ final take: “You’re not able to take a deep breath, you’re not able to digest food, and it can cause acid reflux. Certainly wearing any overly tight garment is overkill.”



Still, though, celebrities and their fans continue to buy, wear, and Instagram waist trainers. And there is apparently some science behind wearing a support garment post-pregnancy, like Alba did. But Phillips says a waist-training corset is not the same thing.



“For people who’ve had C-sections or pregnancy, a support garment can help to support the pelvic area. There’s science behind those, but they’re different” from the type of corset worn in waist training, Phillips explains. If you, like Alba, are trying to re-tone after a pregnancy, visit a doctor or physical therapist — not a corset-shilling website.

[IIOY]

Sept 6, 2015 7:43:50 GMT -5 TR said:

I can't believe there needed to be an article to tell people this is a bad idea, lol.

Right. I feel like this could have been titled, "Why drinking nail polish remover is bad for you."

[Deleted]

As a teen, I borrowed my sisters corset underwear thing. It was her size (it was for under a sheer shirt but was a bra to the waist) and she had a teeny waist and I have a big rib cage.
I was not exactly her size and after an hour I had to sit down in the corner at the party I went to with my friend because I had stomach cramps. I couldn't take it off (sheer shirt) so I ended up leaving the party early.
I still remember this 20 yrs later. It was that uncomfortable.

[Deleted]

I can't imagine going around in a corset all day every day. They are kind of fun for a couple of hours, but SO hard to breathe in.

[ttt]

“For people who’ve had C-sections or pregnancy, a support garment can help to support the pelvic area. There’s science behind those, but they’re different” from the type of corset worn in waist training, Phillips explains. If you, like Alba, are trying to re-tone after a pregnancy, visit a doctor or physical therapist — not a corset-shilling website.



LOL no. Doctors don't give a shit about you "re-toning" after pregnancy. They can't even help you lose weight.

[bowies]

Sept 6, 2015 8:20:33 GMT -5 ttt said:

“For people who’ve had C-sections or pregnancy, a support garment can help to support the pelvic area. There’s science behind those, but they’re different” from the type of corset worn in waist training, Phillips explains. If you, like Alba, are trying to re-tone after a pregnancy, visit a doctor or physical therapist — not a corset-shilling website.



LOL no. Doctors don't give a shit about you "re-toning" after pregnancy. They can't even help you lose weight.

For diastasis recti you'd see a doctor/PT. My OB told me at my 6w post-partum checkup to contact him if I noticed that my midsection wasn't decreasing in size over the next few weeks.

[swsaradee]

There is a woman who wears one to Zumba class. I don't get it.

[starlily]

I saw a young lady put one on right before barre class. I didn't get it. And then she struggled with some of the movements. Gee, I wonder why?

[ttt]

Sept 6, 2015 8:42:31 GMT -5 bowies said:

Sept 6, 2015 8:20:33 GMT -5 ttt said:

“For people who’ve had C-sections or pregnancy, a support garment can help to support the pelvic area. There’s science behind those, but they’re different” from the type of corset worn in waist training, Phillips explains. If you, like Alba, are trying to re-tone after a pregnancy, visit a doctor or physical therapist — not a corset-shilling website.



LOL no. Doctors don't give a shit about you "re-toning" after pregnancy. They can't even help you lose weight.

For diastasis recti you'd see a doctor/PT. My OB told me at my 6w post-partum checkup to contact him if I noticed that my midsection wasn't decreasing in size over the next few weeks.

Yeah but if you don't have diastasis recti and just have a flabby post-partum midsection or weight gain around your waist, no doctor is going to help you with that. Except a plastic surgeon.

[overture]

Sept 6, 2015 4:46:11 GMT -5 summer said:

An even greater risk lies with your lungs. “Wearing for a long amount of time makes it hard to breathe, so you’re taking more shallow breaths,” Phillips says. That can leave you with an oxygen shortage and causes a loss of consciousness, among other dangers. “It’s not good for many different things, including your energy levels,” Phillips explains. It can also “lead to fluid in the lungs,” putting you at risk for pulmonary edema or pneumonia.

Sorry, I can't resist.