Since the sixteenth century, women have been attempting to live up to society’s standards on having the “ideal body shape,” or the hourglass figure. Corsets, an option that has been known to give those dramatic results in as soon as two weeks, has been deemed to hurt more than helps.

Corsets are making a come back and they are what many women have been using for the quick illusion of dieting and slimming down. What it does is it “hugs” your waist to slim it down a couple inches, sometimes there are metal wires to make the process go faster (yet more painful). You start off wearing it two hours a day, every day for the first couple days and eventually you wear it for 30 minutes more working your way up to 10-12 hours.

As a corset wearer, I would have to agree that the process of achieving the ideal body shape with this device is essentially really painful and bothersome. In just two weeks, I was able to see fast results but the side effects made me stop using it. As I flip through a magazine, I stay convinced that using a corset will be the best alternative for my body even though it isn’t the best choice for a 17-year-old still growing.

However, according to a Women’s Health Magazine article “The Truth About the Corset Diet,” Dr. Keri Peterson, a physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, says “It’s outrageous, and it just absolutely makes no medical sense whatsoever.”

What it actually does is it just makes you too uncomfortable to eat, which results in fewer calorie intakes as well as slims you down due to how much you sweat. So in short, according to Peterson, the corset doesn’t really work even though corset wearers think it does. Even with facts being shoved in our faces, somehow women still believe that using a corset has some effect on their body.

Many women, including myself, have been overlooking the bad outcome of corsets and continued wearing it for that “ideal body shape.” In today’s society, with celebrity role models like Kim Kardashian and Jessica Alba, it’s pretty difficult to not get influenced. Although today it seems to be more loving of all body types, having a slim waist like Kylie Jenner is what many aspire to have.

So, what are the horrible effects of a corset? According to MarieCarie.com, the molding of your bust, hips and waist with this device crushes your organs, compresses your lungs and can can lead to fractured ribs.

Society and celebrities we admire have pressured many people on achieving that hourglass body shape. Corsets, being a fast alternative many people use for instant results, actually have the complete opposite affect of what we want. If having that tiny Jessica Rabbit waist is really something you want to acquire, stick to dieting and exercising no matter how difficult it may seem.