Are waist trainers a useful trimming tool or just dangerous?

Q: Are waist trainers effective?

After Kim Kardashian shared the details of the extreme three-week 16-pound weight-loss regimen she undertook to squeeze into an iconic Marilyn Monroe gown for this month’s Met Gala, the result was hardly the admiration she likely expected. The reality TV star was excoriated on social media not only for publicizing her potentially harmful crash diet, but also for endorsing and selling a popular shapewear product that persists against the best medical advice: the waist trainer.

Waist trainers are undergarments that create an hourglass figure by tightly compressing the waist. Kardashian’s shapewear company, Skims, started selling a $68 waist trainer in the fall of 2019; similar products come from a variety of other brands

“They’re basically glorified corsets,” said Stephanie Faubion, the director of Mayo Clinic Women’s Health in Jacksonville, Fla. “I’m sorry to see that we’ve reverted to the 1800s.”

The name “waist trainer” is a misnomer, said Faubion, who is also medical director of the North American Menopause Society. “It’s not training your waist to do anything different. It’s not going to change your shape,” she said. “It’s your waist — it’s not a dog.”

Wearing a waist trainer for a couple hours during a night out — to gain a certain aesthetic — is fine, said Daisy Ayim, a Houston-based cosmetic surgeon and ob/gyn. “If your goal is to look really good in that outfit, yes, you’ll have the benefit of an hourglass figure temporarily,” she said.

Some people may indeed experience weight loss after wearing a waist trainer, Ayim noted — but any pounds dropped are likely to be water weight. The garments are heavy and don’t breathe well, so while wearing one, you’re likely to sweat more, and weight lost this way will quickly return. Excess sweating does not chip away at belly fat, she said.

Although research is scarce, experts agree that regularly wearing a waist trainer creates a variety of risks. “This is not a benign thing you’re doing,” said Jennifer Wider, a New York-based doctor who specializes in women’s health.

Waist trainers can:

Restrict your breathing. Waist trainers are very tight, and wearing them restricts your diaphragm, which is the muscle that separates your heart and lungs from other organs, said Natalie Toshkoff, a pelvic floor physical therapist based in New York. As for exercising in one, as some Tik Tok posters advocate: “You’re compressing your diaphragm,” Wider said. “You’re not able to take a really solid, deep breath when you’re exercising.” If you don’t get enough oxygen, she said, you could pass out.

Affect your internal organs. The compression created by a waist trainer “can have an impact on your internal organs and how they function,” said Dena Barsoum, a physiatrist in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Hospital for Special Surgery in White Plains, N.Y. “All of our organs require room to work, and a waist trainer really limits that space.”

Waist trainers squish your digestive system, which could lead to constipation by “blocking the normal motility and flow of materials through the intestines,” Barsoum said. You might also experience heartburn because it puts pressure on your lower esophagus and causes “backflow of fluids through your stomach,” she said.

Weaken your musculoskeletal system. Muscles get stronger through activity, “so if a waist trainer is holding your waist in a certain position, the muscles aren’t doing anything,” Barsoum said. “The muscles can sometimes get weaker because they’re not having to do any work.”

If you want to reduce belly fat, Faubion recommends prioritizing a healthy diet, especially cutting simple carbohydrates, such as sugary drinks and baked goods.

“The only way to approach a waist trainer is to see it as a temporary fix,” Ayim said. “Nothing slimming comes out of it, nothing permanent comes out of it, and nothing meaningful comes out of it.”