So just what is this fad that has become all the rage in Hollywood?
It’s called waist training. And it has gained immense popularity over the past year.
Waist training is everywhere. As a result, celebrities have posted selfies of tiny waists bound by restricting corsets reminiscent of female style centuries ago. In fact, it has been reported that Jessica Alba wore a double corset around the clock for three months following childbirth.
Really, waist training is like stepping back into a time when women valued curves over cost. To the average consumer, these devices seem fantastic. Unfortunately, this quick fix is often described as one thing: dangerous.
This is why you should think three times before jumping to the tune of this popular trend and research it thoroughly.
Many doctors around the country are warning consumers of the hazards of waist trainers. That’s because seemingly harmless waist trainers can be detrimental to your health, especially if they are not custom fitted.
"Just because a celebrity promotes it doesn't mean that it's safe or that it works or that it's proven," spinal surgeon Dr. Paul Jeffords tells USA Today. "If I were to take a rubber band and wrap it around my finger tightly and leave it there for an hour, I'm going to have this indentation in my soft tissue, but it's not going to be permanent. An hour later, my finger is going to look normal again.”
However, not all doctors agree with the dangers of this concept. According to the Huffington Post, one company associated with this trend has become known by name: “The Corset Diet.”
The Corset Diet has put a modern spin on a once-dangerous practice. This method of reshaping the waistline is practiced by wearing a corset for a number of hours a day, beginning with a short period and leading up to 12 hours of wear.
Promoters of the product swear by its safety. In fact, its website promises “easy, fast and safe results” that are approved by both doctors and dieticians. The custom-made corsets boast a possible five-pound-a-week weight loss with a gradual shift to an hourglass-like figure.
The products promise comfort and a lack of constricted movement. This is important because ancient corsets caused harm through constriction itself. These products are even said to improve posture and self-esteem by helping wearers to feel more feminine.
So how in the world would an ancient concept like the corset find its way to modern times?
The Corset Diet website claims that that the idea for the corsets came from a television series entitled “The Diets That Time Forgot.” The series examined three consumers with weight loss goals. The trio was said to have engaged in old-time diets and practices dating back to the late 1800s and early 1900s. The supplier of The Corset Diet says corsets later sought to examine whether food or clothing played a part in this weight loss process.
Consequently, the company created corsets that are thought to be safer and not “tight-laced.” (That’s the term for ancient corsets that actually made women faint.) This may provide a safer general approach to the corset in general.
Further, some doctors appear to promote The Corset Diet. According to the Huffington Post, Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Alexander Sinclair has used this approach in more than 100 patients. He even discussed the concept on Good Morning America.
Sinclair’s patients wear the garment between two and four hours daily. The time spent wearing the garment is then increased by 30 minutes on a weekly basis until the patient reaches 10 to 12 hours of wearing time. The garment is not worn during workouts or while sleeping.
“Some of my patients wants smaller waists, which can only be done with rib removal,” Sinclair told HuffPost. This procedure requires hospitalization and surgical risks. “I do a lot of body contouring and shaping, and [corsets are] a non-invasive, non-surgical way of modifying your body shape.”
But not all companies create these types of custom-made corsets designed with health in mind. In fact, timeless research has shown a dramatic problem with ill-fitting corsets in general. In fact, The Science of Eating reports that x-rays dating back to the 20th century show the disturbing effects of this trend.
Early images demonstrating this concept can be seen in a medical paper published in 1908 by French author Dr. Ludovic O’Followell, who used x-rays to compare images of corset-wearing women with women who didn’t wear corsets.
Modern doctors have observed the same concerning factors that O’Fallowell observed so many years ago. That observation is an actual shift in organs, which doesn’t come without consequences.
“It just crams all of your organs together. So over a long period of time, wearing it too much and too frequently, it can cause damage, too,” Atlanta-based physician and health and wellness expert Dr. Tasneem Bhatia, tells USA Today.
Some of these effects can cause long-term damage. In fact, New York bariatric physician Dr. Jyotindra Shah told Huffington Post that the use of corsets can actually bruise the organs. The chest compression associated with ill-fitting corsets is said to have the ability to affect breathing, leading to dizziness, which is why women who lived in the era of corsets many years ago experienced “fainting spells.”
Another issue associated with corsets is rashes. Shah attributes this to contact with the skin. And if a corset is worn repeatedly, rashes may not heal.
Shapewear may even cause nerve issues. In fact, some experts report observations of nerve problems associated with simple shaping garments, like Spanx and skinny jeans. The Science of Eating notes that Dr. Orly Avitzur, a neurologist and medical advisor for Consumer Reports and author on the subject, has seen this issue firsthand in her practice. One patient even reported tingling in her thigh as well as stomach pain, which subsided once wearing these garments ceased.
Some women have even reported yeast and bladder infections associated with shapewear. One reason for this is that it can be difficult to use the restroom when wearing items that are difficult to take off and put back on.
And some experts say that these garments simply don’t work.
"Spot reducing doesn't exist," Christopher Ochner, Ph.D., weight loss and nutrition expert at Mount Sinai Hospital, tells Marie Claire magazine. "You can't reduce the collection of fat in any one particular area of your body. If you push your stomach in, all the fat will go right back to where it was no matter how long [you wear the corset] for."
Now you know both sides of the story. At the end of the day, the choice as to whether or not to wear a corset is yours and yours alone. However, if you do engage in this practice, DO NOT go for the old-school method of “tight-lacing.” Obtain a custom-fitted garment designed with safety in mind. And consult both your physician and the manufacturer as to how to go about using waist training. After all, no diet trend is worth compromising your health.