Waist trainers and corsets have been used for centuries to create a svelte, hourglass figure. Yet despite everything we’ve learned about their life-threatening side effects, influencers continue to promote their usage on social media.
Most recently, Keyshia Ka’Oir shared pictures on her Instagram promoting her waist trainer, the Ka’Oir Waist Eraser, to her 5.4 million followers. In one picture, she wrote,
“I want you guys to wear your waist eraser 23 hours per day! Sleep in it! Only remove to shower!!!!!”
The caption also promises her followers that they could lose two inches in just one day.
In another picture, she suggested that if her followers wanted to lose more inches and maximize their weight loss, they should add her detox tea and body slimming cream to their fitness regimen. And in the comments, she told a pregnant woman to bring her waist trainer with her to the hospital so that she can wear it after she gives birth (which is something you should definitely not do).
On top of waist trainers, she also sells arm and thigh compression bands, detox tea, and clothes that purposefully raise your body’s temperature while working out.
But Keyshia is far from the only influencer urging their followers to lose weight in one of the most unhealthy ways possible.
>Kim Kardashian — whose family helped popularize the waist trainer craze in 2014 — announced in an Instagram video that a waist trainer was the newest addition to her shapewear brand Skims.
“You know I’ve been so vocal about these, I’ve worn waist trainers for years. To me, they make me just feel really snatched.”
Of course, you’d feel that way. Especially since waist trainers have been proven to constrict your breathing, push your organs together in unnatural positions, dehydrate the body, and cause digestive problems like acid reflux and indigestion.
According to the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, waist trainers and corsets can cause damage to some of your body’s most vital organs. When you wear a waist trainer, your body constricts. Organs like the lungs, stomach, liver, esophagus, intestines, and kidneys are then pushed together causing overcrowding and difficulty for the organs to function correctly.
Trainers can also cause difficulty in breathing, which can “result in low energy and discomfort, but scarier consequences—passing out, fluid buildup in the lungs, inflammation—are also a real possibility. Binding yourself in a corset for weeks on end also restricts your lymphatic system, which relies on deep breathing and normal range of motion to properly remove waste products and toxins from your body.”
But the dangers of waist trainers have not stopped people from purchasing them.
Make no mistake, the only way to properly lose weight and be successful on your fitness journey is by eating right, listening to your body, and exercising regularly. The results may take a little longer, but at least they won’t cost you a trip to the hospital.
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