Seen At 11: 'Waist Training,' Fad Or For Real?
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Can you really train your waist to shrink? Kim Kardashian swears by it and now the 1800s garment is making a comeback.
She posted a picture to her Instagram earlier this week of her in a purple corset-- it's a practice known as "waist training."
#hourglass #waisttraining #nophotoshopnecessary #whatawaist.com @premadonna87 http://t.co/5AeZg546mH
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) August 21, 2014
Her sister Khloe and other celebrities like Jessica Alba admitted to wearing corsets to lose weight, too, CBS 2's Tracee Carrasco reported.
But despite the Hollywood hype, some women are still skeptical.
"I don't think wearing corsets would be helpful, it's out-of-date for a reason," one woman said.
"I used to wear a girdle and if I really felt pudgy, I might try it," another said.
But Peggy with Orchard Corsets on the Lower East Side said waist training works and is no Hollywood fad.
"We're doing it for years, but it became very popular recently within the last two to three years," she said.
But many doctors disagree, Carrasco reported. They say wearing a corset won't help you reduce your waistline, but in fact might be hazardous to your health.
"Discomfort, bruising, pinched nerves all the way up to more extreme cases: hyperventilation, fainting and even some malformation of organs," Obesity expert at Mount Sinai Hospital Dr. Christopher Ochner said.
Dr. Ochner said you're better off just exercising and eating healthy.
"There's really no shortcut. If there were, everybody would be doing it," he said.
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