Experts weigh in on trend
WITH all five Kardashian-Jenner sisters now waist training, this trend has now found its way to the shores of South Africa – and Port Elizabeth – but has received a mixed reaction.
Central resident Awonke Tinzi said when she heard about waist trainers from watching television, she decided to go out and get one.
“I bought it online after seeing it. It works, I saw a lot of difference around my waist and tummy after two weeks,” Tinzi said.
Sameenah Harnekar, owner of Waist Training SA, an online store based in Cape Town, claims that the latex garment she sells “attacks unwanted fat and impurities within your body”.
However, Harnekar did advise people trying out a waist-trainer not to use it for more than two to four hours a day to start, then work their way up depending on how comfortable they were.
Medical professionals, however, have warned of the health implications of cinching waists.
Summerstrand general practitioner Dr Petra Conradie said: “Waist training could possibly promote better posture, yes, but it can also cause harm by disregarding the importance of healthy habits, and heartburn will be aggravated or induced in people who are abdominally obese.”
She also warned that going back to copy habits of the Victorian age when women wore corsets could lead to reduced blood flow to the heart, which in turn could cause a fainting spell.