‘Shapewear’. A modern phenomenon. Women have been duped into thinking that squeezing their perfectly normal bodies into a spandex suit the size of a matchbox is “generally a good thing”.

Well, the truth is, it’s just not a good thing. At all.

The Huffington Post spoke to gastroenterologist Dr. John Kuemmerle, dermatologist Dr. Maryann Mikhail and chiropractor Dr. Karen Erickson to find out what exactly was wrong with shapewear.

When you wear shapewear, you’re compressing your organs:

Shapewear wouldn’t be shapewear if it wasn’t tight. And because it’s so tight, not only are you squeezing your fat into a more pleasing shape, you’re also squeezing your stomach, your colon and your intestines into an unnatural shape.

That includes compressing your bowels:

We’re going to let Dr. Kuemmerle take this one:

In someone who has weakness down below and a tendency towards incontinence, increasing intra-abdominal pressure can certainly provoke episodes of incontinence.

You can develop tingling, numbness and pain in your legs:

Wearing your tiny spandex suit all day can lead to a reversible condition called meralgia paresthetica, which is when the peripheral nerve in your thigh is compressed. This leads to tingling, numbness and pain in your legs, all of which can come and go or become constant.

This constriction will eventually lead to blood cots, varicose veins and swollen ankles.

Just don’t do it!

[Source : Huffington Post]