Does Shapewear Reduce Belly Fat?

Shapewear, a foundation undergarment designed to be worn under your clothes, compresses and smooths out subcutaneous fat: the fat under the skin. The effect is a figure that’s slimmer, firmer and smoother. But does shapewear permanently reduce your belly fat? Will you lose inches from your waist and pounds from your body if you wear shapewear regularly?

What Does Shapewear Do?

Shapewear is a type of compression garment scientifically designed to compress and enhance your curves. It smooths out the jiggles and bulges that naturally come with every stage of life.

In the sporting world, compression garments have been shown to do the following:

• Increase blood flow, which delivers more oxygen and nutrients and efficiently removes wastes
• Increase the temperature of the compressed tissue
• Improve awareness of the body, which improves posture
• Reduce muscle soreness

While these effects can result in a more toned figure, they don’t directly remove or break down body fat. Increased blood flow doesn’t burn any extra calories. However, an increased temperature in the compressed tissue may accelerate metabolism and burn a few more calories.

There is a dispute as to whether better posture burns more or fewer calories. One faction claims that since better posture engages your core muscles, you burn more calories. The other faction claims that since better posture allows you to move more efficiently and ergonomically, you burn fewer calories. What is not in dispute is that you will look more graceful, confident and youthful if you have a more proper posture.

Are the Effects of a Waist Cincher Permanent?

A waist cincher (also called a waist trainer) is a modern, scientifically designed compression garment that conceals and firms belly fat. It will smooth out your love handles and flatten your mommy pouch. Ultimately, it can make belly fat less visible.

Many people confuse waist cinchers with corsets. A corset is a stiff garment designed to push the breasts up, force the shoulders back and massively compress the waist. The corsets of the late 1800s were made out of metal and whalebone and often laced so tightly that they could deform the ribcage and move the internal organs into odd places, which permanently reduced the wearer’s waist measurement and impaired the wearer’s health.

A modern waist cincher is not a corset, so it will not do any of those harmful things. While you wear it, it makes your stomach appear flatter, thinner and more shapely. As soon as you remove it, the effect goes away. You can normally breathe while wearing a waist cincher, and it will not move your internal organs out of place. It will also not permanently take inches off your waist by deforming your ribcage.

What About Cellulite?

Thigh and buttock shapewear compresses and firms your lower body parts while you wear it. Some studies have shown that regularly wearing shapewear will reduce the appearance of your cellulite when you’re not wearing your shapewear, such as at the beach. This effect may be due to the shapewear forcing excess fluid out of the fatty tissues, reducing the appearance of dimpling. Note, however, that these same studies did not find any actual loss of body fat due to wearing shapewear; it just temporarily made the cellulite less visible.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that shapewear will not help you lose belly fat or any other type of fat. However, shapewear will make you look fabulous while you’re wearing it. You’ll appear slimmer, more poised and more confident. Why not browse our shapewear for women collection and pick out some garments for yourself?