Scarily there is a new trend of wearing a corset for hours at a time to compress your core, which will supposedly decrease the size of your waist permanently over time. Celebrities spruking the new trend are Kim and Khloe Kardashian and Jessica Alba recently said she used a corset after the birth of her children to help her attain her pre-pregnancy body.



So what is involved and how does it work?
The aim of waist training is to try and make the area between the hips and the rib cage smaller by working the front and lower abdominals and obliques. The idea is to strengthen these muscles to create a flatter tummy and more defined waist.
There are two types of corset: the first is to aid strength and is often worn post-pregnancy or by people who have back problems. The second is used during workouts to increase body temperature, causing you to sweat more and feel like you are burning extra fat. The corset used by Kim Kardashian is a mixture of the two; it aids her workout at the same time as improving her core stability by providing extra support.
OK, it all sounds very good in theory but the truth is there is no evidence to prove the corsets actually work. The corsets may provided short term weight loss from sweating but considering you are doing a lot of cardio and core strengthening work, there is little evidence to suggest the corset is the main reason for the shaping of the waist area. We would assume you would obtain the same results without using it.


The bad:
Wearing a corset for an extended period of time can cause shortness of breath which can lead to bronchial issues, cracked ribs and bruised organs. Unfortunately, some wearers decide wearing the corset to the gym just isn’t enough and they become somewhat ‘addicted’ to wearing them. Perhaps thinking that if they do take it off they won’t lose weight or achieve that desired hourglass figure, which is quite dangerous.
The corset is recommended for use in the gym only, while doing core support exercises. Just wearing a corset alone and not going to the gym and working on your abdominal muscles won’t have any long term benefit on your waist line and it definitely won’t reshape your figure.
Basically, the corset is there to support your core muscles while working out, like a body builder wears when doing weight training to support their back muscles.
Am I sold on it?
As I do yoga and walking, I don’t think it would be something that would have any benefit to my exercise regime and as you have to do a lot of conscious breathing during yoga, I think the corset may inhibit this.
I think it may be of benefit at supporting your muscles during some exercises such as pilates and weight training but to resculpt your body I am highly dubious of it.
I believe that high waisted shaping pants may have the same effect and work just as well post pregnancy to help the stomach muscles ‘close up’.
The best way to lose weight is to eat properly and exercise regularly. To work on your waistline, you need to do targeted exercises for that area. Such as crunches and sit ups. Unfortunately, there isn’t an easy way to magically obtain an hourglass figure (well, unless you were already born with one).

Another interesting fad to come out of the US recently is the butt lifting panty or “butt bra”. The makers of this garment claim that the butt lift panty gives you instant booty pop. It may make your booty pop but going by the picture below, it just makes it look out of proportion to me and shows a visible panty line under your clothing. Imagine getting naked with your partner and they see these on you? I guess it will give them something to giggle about.



General consensus: 
Wouldn’t the world be boring if we all had oddly shaped bodies with huge rears? Who are we really trying to impress? Just because society and media says it is the ultimate desire at the moment to have an hourglass figure and a big booty doesn’t mean it is going to last.
Next week, the ideal body may go back to being a size 0 and those who have had butt implants will be going straight back to their surgeon and having them removed and probably have excess fat removed by liposuction.
Instead of wasting money on products which only appear to give you short term benefit, love the body you already have and make use of the assets you were born with. A healthy and fit body is much more attractive body and a much happier mind overall.
I have to wonder, those who are consistently trying to keep up with having the “ideal body” if they are truly happy. I would think that someone who wants to constantly change their appearance has to be insecure and unhappy within themselves to strive to appeal to others with their looks alone.
If you are doing all of these “enhancements’ for appearance appeal, are you really attracting the right sort of people who are only interested in your looks. Sound incredibly superficial to me.
Life is short, so make the most of what you were born with and be happy with what you were blessed with! Remember, once you take off the corset, butt lifting panties, booster bra, whatever you will still have the same body shape you had before and the same personality! So maybe work on being a better person inside and out and live a happier life.