The dangers of waist trainers and why you shouldn’t wear them

updated the 3 January 2018 à 00:45

Although it’s an easy way to reduce your waist size, they can pose great dangers to your health.

With many of us promising to stick to our New Year’s resolutions of keeping fit and losing weight, finding quick solutions such as skinny teas, diet pills and waist training are extremely common.

Thanks to many celebrity endorsements of the waist trainers, mainly the Kardashian clan, a lot of women are depending on the waist trainers to supposedly help them lose weight and reduce their waist size. But what exactly is the term waist training and more importantly, is it safe and as effective as people say?

What is waist training?

Waist trainers are the “new” corset that has been around for the longest time. You use it to give your body a better shape and silhouette, reduce your waist size and accentuate your curves. You’re supposed to put them on for as long as 12 hours a day while incorporating exercises and eating healthy.

The risks of waist training: 

  1. Harmful to your organs: Wearing a waist trainer for a long period of time can harm your organs, misplace them and cause permanent damage. It will also limit blood and oxygen flow to your vital organs which can lead to dizzy spells and difficulty breathing.
  2. Causes dehydration: Waist trainers will heat up the core temperature and can cause excessive sweating. This means you’ll lose water weight and is at risk for dehydration.
  3. Increases the chances of indigestion: The waist trainer also pressing on your chest area will increase your chance of heartburn and indigestion. Not only can it cause pain, but recurring acid reflux can cause long-term damage by eroding the walls of your esophagus.
  4. Causes skin irritation: Having a waist trainer wrapped tightly around your waist for hours can cause chafing and rashes.
  5. Bruising: In worst cases, bruising will occur on parts of your core.

The bottom line

These body shapers aren’t so good at giving you permanent, lasting results you’d wish to see. Afterall, all you’re doing is compressing your stomach and putting the fat elsewhere. Not getting rid of it.

We would still strongly recommend the long and hard way of exercising and eating healthy, eliminating refined and processed foods, and including crunches and 1-minute planks into your workout routine. You will definitely see the long-term results and not put your health at risk.

Daphne Leo

Photos: Getty Images

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Marie France Asia, women's magazine