Hanoi resident Huyen, 22 years old, bought five waist trainers to wear in an attempt to lose weight and reduce fat. A week later, both sides of her waist were bruised, swollen, and covered with red marks.
Huyen, 1.5 meters tall and weighing over 60 kg, tried everything to lose weight. She ate clean, consumed raw foods, exercised, and jumped rope, but only lost a few kilograms before gaining them back. She bought five sets of "anti-rolling breathable waist trainers" online. The seller claimed they were made of rubber, breathable, and non-itchy. The seller also advised wearing them regularly for two months to shape her waist into an hourglass figure, reducing her waist circumference by 4-7 cm. She wore them for 5-7 hours a day, saying, "Initially, I felt some soreness, which means the fat is being eliminated."
The product set included a belt and a bra to prevent chafing and itching. On the first day of wearing it, Huyen experienced pain on both sides of her waist, followed by itching, but she persevered. On the second day, her abdomen developed many dark marks and bruises due to the belt tightening. A week later, she was forced to stop wearing it because the pain made it difficult to breathe, stand up, and sit down, and her abdominal area was bruised and red.
"I only experienced pain, I didn't lose any weight," Huyen said, adding that she complained to the seller and was "blamed for not following the usage instructions, so they wouldn't refund her."
Mai, 29, also uses a waist trainer, but says it's "not as effective as rumored." She wears it every day, except when sleeping. Whenever she exercises, she tightens the belt by one notch to increase effectiveness. In the beginning, she experienced abdominal pain, which she thought was due to incorrect posture during exercise.
Fitness trainer Dinh Thi Bich, from the Hoang Mai District Sports and Culture Center, where Ms. Mai trains, believes that wearing a waist trainer actually hinders movement, causes imbalance, abdominal pain, and only temporarily suppresses fat. The trainer advises students to prioritize abdominal exercises and stop wearing the waist trainer because it has no effect on fat reduction.
Huyen's abdomen was bruised and covered in scratches after she used a waist trainer. (Photo: Provided by the subject)
Recently, the market has seen a surge in popularity of waist trainers in various styles, colors, and price ranges. Many people share that they wear these devices all day, except when showering, to achieve a slimmer waist and firmer breasts. Ms. Huyen and Ms. Mai are two of many cases experiencing complications from using these waist trainers.
Dr. Calvin Q. Trinh, Head of the Musculoskeletal Correction Center at Hospital 1A (Ho Chi Minh City), said that this is only a temporary method for people with belly fat who want to wear figure-hugging dresses; the fat remains after the belt is removed. Many people wear the belt in combination with exercise, and the resulting weight loss leads them to mistakenly believe it's thanks to the belt.
This method involves using a waist belt to tighten the abdominal area and compress fat, but in reality, the fat doesn't disappear; instead, it migrates to other parts of the body, pressing on the stomach, lungs, diaphragm, and rib cage, causing discomfort. Wearing the belt regularly puts pressure on the abdominal cavity, leading to umbilical, inguinal, lumbar, and diaphragmatic hernias. Inguinal and diaphragmatic hernias require emergency surgery and are very dangerous.
Those who wear them often feel pressured in their stomachs, feel full quickly, and may even experience abdominal pain. The pressure from the waist trainer affects the stomach, increasing the risk of food refluxing into the esophagus, which is not good for people with intestinal problems. Women who have recently given birth may experience pain at the incision site. Recently, a 39-year-old woman who used a waist trainer to lose weight experienced abdominal pain and vomiting, and doctors diagnosed her with a ruptured liver and internal bleeding.
"This is forced weight loss, which both hinders physical activity and affects daily eating habits," the doctor said.
Dr. Bui Duc Ngot, from the General Surgery Department of the Post Office Hospital, advises that wearing abdominal compression belts can lead to hyperthermia, decreased vital capacity (reduced respiratory volume of the lungs), and pressure ulcers. Long-term use may also cause complications such as hemorrhoids, femoral hernia, and inguinal hernia due to increased abdominal pressure, frequent urination, and digestive disorders.
Many people who aren't overweight still have belly fat because their pelvis rotates forward, causing their lower abdomen to bulge, their buttocks to be high, and their torso to be pushed forward, giving them a duck-like appearance. This is a typical result of incorrect exercise posture. "In this case, wearing a waist trainer will only worsen the problem and cause back pain," the doctor said, advising people to go to the hospital for corrective surgery to rotate their pelvis backward.
This image simulates the changes in the body's organs caused by wearing a waist trainer. (Image: Pulse)
Medical literature worldwide has documented for centuries that some women suffered internal organ damage due to wearing overly tight bras. In a study published in Cureus in 2020, experts stated that wearing tight clothing can cause internal organ damage due to "compression, bruising, and ischemia."
Dr. Dena Barsoum, a physical therapist and rehabilitation specialist at the New York Hospital for Special Surgery, argues that corsets can affect internal organs, causing them to move to abnormal positions and even cutting off blood flow that allows them to function normally. Corsets can also cause digestive problems, constipation, reflux, and weaken the musculoskeletal system. They can constrict the movement of the diaphragm, the muscle separating the heart and lungs from other organs, which is detrimental to breathing.
Doctors advise against wearing a waist trainer continuously every day. For safety, you should only wear it for one to two hours a day, at a comfortable level, and remove it while sleeping. For weight loss, combine proper exercise with a healthy diet.
Minh An - Nhu Ngoc
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