Women have been wearing corsets for years to try and achieve that tiny waist and over the last few years other waist cinchers have made their way to the market but are they doing more harm than good?
The waist trainer is among the most popular and a number of celebrities are snapping them up to slim their physique and say they appear to be working.
The idea is to wear the trainer for a certain amount of time every day and eventually it will mold the body into a slimmer silhouette.
Ricio Diaz sells the trainer and stands by her product. She says the key is moderation and advises against wearing it for too long.
“No more than eight hours and no less than four hours, ‘said Diaz.
Some doctors have warned women about the dangers of wearing the apparel and are advising them to ditch the trend and engage in traditional weight loss methods like eating healthy and exercising.
Jessica Power is an exercise physiologist at Mount Royal University and says compressing the torso can cause blood flow and oxygen levels to organs to decrease, which prevents them from functioning optimally, and can lead to intestinal problems.
“It’s fine to look great and I get that,” said Power. “But at the same time we also need to take care of our body. We need to be healthy as we age.”
The waist trainers can also impact the curve of the back and can ‘turn off’ stabilizing abdominal muscles, which can lead to problems in the future.
"At the end of the day, is what’s going to happen to my body five years from now? What's going to happen to my body 10 years from now, 15 years from now, and that's where we start to lose that disconnect with the body,” said Power.
Proponents of the product say it can shrink the wearer’s waist by up to five inches from the first moment it is worn and they are now also making them for men.
A waist trainer advertisment in the UK was recently banned after a viewer complained that the product was harmful and encouraged unhealthy body perceptions.
(With files from Kathy Le)
