‘The Flex Belt:’ No such thing as spot reducing

My friend Michelle posted this on her Facebook page:

“Had to break-up with Mr. Christmas Tree today. Miss him already. He just lit up the room, ya know?

“So genuine, not a fake. And so gifted. Every time I looked at him, I saw those gifts all around him. And he wasn’t all wrapped up in himself.

“Yeah, guess I’ll be pining away for him all year. What’s his name, you ask?

“Douglas Fir.”

Cute. If only we could break up those extra holiday pounds as creatively as Mr. Christmas Tree. Which brings me to this letter from a reader:

“Dr. Quinn, I am reaching out to you as I’m a skeptic. Please let me know if the info commercial about the Flex Belt is legit. This belt is an electronic device that, for thirty minutes a day, is supposed to reduce your abs to muscle from fat. Gets rid of belly bulge by doing nothing! Celebrities like Lisa Rinna, Denise Richards, Adrienne Curry all promote it. I am a skeptical person and seeing the FDR or FDA in this commercial still doesn’t impress me. I need much more proof.”

— Michael E.

Dear Michael: I’d be skeptical, too, Here’s what registered dietitian and exercise physiology expert Gina Whiteley has to say:

“The Flex Belt is an ‘ab toning’ device that uses Electrical Muscle Stimulation to cause muscles to contract by sending an electrical impulse through electrodes that are placed on the skin. This is essentially what our central nervous system does internally (inside our bodies) to contract muscles. When it is done externally (outside our bodies), it does not challenge our central nervous system which, in my opinion, is not nearly as beneficial.”

This type of technology has been used with patients who are paralyzed and not able to “exercise” their muscles, said Whiteley. “But the Flex Belt does NOT burn fat.” Which makes all those toned abs in the commercials pretty misleading.

“There is no such thing as spot reducing. We burn fat through aerobic activity (walking, swimming, biking, etc.) and we tone muscles through anaerobic activity (ab workouts, resistance training). So if you do not do any sort of aerobic exercise — even if you eat a healthy diet — you will never achieve a flat stomach with this type of product,” said Whiteley.”

— Barbara Quinn is a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula.