Exit
HATE SPANX because
even though they look
so good under your
clothes, sometimes midwedding I’ll be like, ‘I feel so nauseous,’” actress Jennifer Coolidge
once said. “They’re so tight, who
knows what you’re cutting off?”
Turns out, that star was on to
something. While we can all relate
to the aforementioned pain and suffering, most of us have no idea about
the health ramifications of shapewear. Are we hurting our bodies in
the name of smooth garment lines?
We spoke to gastroenterologist Dr.
John Kuemmerle, dermatologist Dr.
Maryann Mikhail and chiropractor
Dr. Karen Erickson to find out.
“I
WHEN YOU WEAR
SHAPEWEAR, YOU’RE
COMPRESSING YOUR ORGANS.
Shapewear couldn’t do its job if it
wasn’t tight. Unfortunately, this
leaves your stomach, intestine and
colon compressed, which Dr. Kuemmerle says can worsen acid reflux
and heartburn. Restrictive clothing
can also provoke erosive esophagitis.
Your digestive tract is also affected, explains Dr. Erickson. The intestines are supposed to contract and
move food along, but when they’re
compressed over a long period of
STYLE
HUFFINGTON
02.02.14
It’s like putting these giant
rubber bands around your
upper thighs and tightening
them when you sit.”
time, the flow of digestion is stifled.
“It’s like when people eat a huge
meal and then unbuckle their jeans,”
Dr. Kuemmerle says. This damage,
though not permanent, can lead to
unpleasant symptoms like abdominal discomfort, bloating and gas.
Another hallmark of shapewear?
Shallow breath. When you inhale,
your diaphragm expands and your
abdomen flares out, Dr. Erickson
says, but shapewear restricts this
movement and decreases the excursion in respiration.
THAT INCLUDES COMPRESSING
YOUR BOWELS.
Those with functional bowel disorders and irritable bowel syndrome
should wear shapewear with caution. “In someone who has weakness down below and a tendency
towards incontinence,” Dr. Kuemmerle explains, “increasing intraabdominal pressure can certainly
provoke episodes of incontinence.”
Dr. Erickson also notes that
there can be a tendency for those
wearing shapewear to not to want
to go to the bathroom. “You’ve got
all of this pressure on your bladder from the shapewear pressing