Since last year, there has been a new trend among Ghanaian women, “waist training”.
The “waist training” trend was spearheaded by Ghanaian celebrities who copied it from foreign celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian and Jessica Alba who are preachers of the product.
According to users of the waist trainer, a tight corset, it helps them flatten or tighten their stomach most importantly after birth.
Notable Ghanaian celebs who waist-train are Beverly Afaglo, Moesha Budong (that is if you consider her a celebrity), Ama K. Abebrese, Princess Shyngle etc. Some sell the product and heavily advertise it on their social media pages.
But is it safe to use the waist trainer? Does it work? These are questions on everybody’s mouth.
Princess Shyngle, A famous Ghanaian known for using the product to achieve her look above
According to a Yahoo Health article, using a waist trainer just doesn’t work, as it was made known by a renowned medical doctor. He said;
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 a waist trainer 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 cause 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.”
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.
A word to the wise is enough, the product just doesn’t work, I personally know people who use it and have seen no traction. It is also harmful to your lungs, bones and health in general. Use it at your own peril.
