The Fad Is Still Going Strong, but Are Waist Trainers Safe?

The idea of altering your waist size to attain the dream hourglass body without having to go through the proper exercise and diet seems too good to be true.

Well guess what? It is. Waist training results Do. Not. Last.

The only reason you’d lose weight while wearing a waist trainer is probably because you’re too uncomfortable to eat. And breathe.

Although celebrities such as Jessica Alba and the Kardashian sisters swear by it, we also know thatat least Kim received plastic surgery to shrink her stomach.  The Kardashians also get paid for promoting waist trainers, so it’s hard to take their word as the absolute truth.

And even if the waist trainer was a permanent solution to a smaller waist, the risks are too dangerous to be a viable option for a lot of women. They harm your body. Here’s how.

It can affect your breathing and mobility.

Tight waist trainers can interfere with breathing, cause discomfort, contribute to heartburn and cause acid reflux.

“Your stomach might get pushed up beyond the diaphragm, which could cause reflux,” Dr. Apovian told Health. “If you’re wearing one and you experience these symptoms, that’s a definite sign that you need to loosen it or take it off.”

It can damage your organs. 

Since the waist trainer is encasing your abdomen, it can push your stomach up, crush your organs, fracture your ribs and compress your lungs, Christopher Ochner, Ph.D., weight loss and nutrition expert at Mount Sinai Hospital, told Marie Claire.

Yeah, that doesn’t sound too pretty.

It can lead to unhealthy habits.

Dr. Alexis Conason, a New York City-based psychologist specializing in body image told Teen Vogue that wearing waist trainers can negatively affect your self-esteem.

“When you wear this uncomfortable contraption all day, it is a constant reminder that there’s something wrong with your body — that your body is not good enough as it currently is.”

She also warns that this kind of thinking can lead to a higher risk of becoming anorexic or bulimic. Since the corset is squeezing your stomach, it becomes uncomfortable, which makes it harder to eat enough food.

You’re more likely to increase the fat in your body. 

Joshua Silverman, a personal trainer, told The Huffington Post United Kingdom that waist trainers constrict the abdominal walls, which stops blood from getting to the adipose tissue and, ultimately, your organs.

In fact, it even keeps your fat from getting out of the area. So if you’re wearing a waist trainer to try and get rid of your fat, you’re using the wrong method.

“[Waist trainers] start gathering fat there due to the fact that it can’t free up any fatty acids,” Silverman told The Huffington Post. “So rather than reducing your waist size, you could actually do the opposite in the longer term.”

It can cause fainting.

Dr. Dyan Hes, a pediatrician and medical director of Gramercy Pediatrics in New York City, told Teen Vogue that waist trainers make it harder to breathe because it’s compressing your lungs. And if you must wear it, you should only wear the waist trainer for two to three hours a day. Wearing it for eight hours or more can lead to dizziness, light-headedness, nausea and fainting.

Although the fad seems like the best way to attain the famous Kardashian figures, it’s an unhealthy way to achieve a temporary look. And in the long-term, it’ll probably ruin your body’s shape, anyway.

Really, the best way to obtain your dream body is through exercising and a calorie-controlled diet. Save your organs and do that instead.