After Kim Kardashian posted her instagram pic of her in her corset, sales of the weight cincher sky rocketed and everyone wanted to follow in her footsteps.

But what really IS this Corset Diet, HOW does it work and IS it safe???

Lets examine how this works first:

The corset is somewhat of a waist “trainer” in that you wear a corset under your clothes for a duration of time. The corset is supposed to be 4-5 inches smaller than your current waist, and you start by training your midsection by wearing it for anywhere between 8-16 hrs a day for 3 to 12 weeks (depending on your desired results).

How it works:

By wearing this cinching device, the idea is you train your midsection to tighten up and stay “tucked in”. By wearing something so tight and smaller than your actual waist size, you also train your self to eat less, since you have no room left in your stomach to expand.

Is it Safe:

This new phenomenon, endorsed by many celebrities has been gaining popularity by fans, but be aware of the consequences. The restriction of this tight corset can cause damage to lungs, kidneys, liver, spleen and digestion. Not only are you putting your organs at risk of bruising, but your oxygen intake is affected, which is required for obvious reasons, healthy function of your organs. In addition, people have reported Acid reflux, stomach aches, and even esophageal cancer has been associated with the belts that are too tight.

All in all, as in any fad diet is concerned, the general advice is to stay away from quick fix problems and stick to longer term lifestyle changes that support your health.