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Leggings are comfy (and can be a real wardrobe-booster), but do they actually make you fat?
There are many things you can say about leggings, but most women who wear them will reduce it to one word: comfortable. Yet the super-comfy wardrobe staple recently caused a stir in the blogosphere when the U.K.'s Daily Mail reported on why the popular stretchy pants can make you fat.
Leggings have a downside, according to Sammy Margo, the London physiotherapist quoted in the article. "They hold in and support the quadriceps (thigh muscles), buttocks and core muscles in your tummy, and do the job the muscles are supposed to do."
"As a result the muscles are allowed to relax and switch off ... so they are not as svelte or firm as they otherwise would be,” Margo is quoted as saying.
In short, Margo purports that leggings make muscles "lazy," resulting in flabby legs and untoned tummies. And worst of all, these wardrobe staples actually make you fat by weakening your muscles and increasing body fat.
To be sure, not every figure is flattered by leggings and they can be a downright fashion faux pas for some. But can they actually make you fat?
"That's ridiculous," says Dr. Jana Klauer, a weight loss expert in private practice in New York City. "There's nothing in leggings that would cause any change to occur within the muscle or the fat of the leg," she says.
"If your stomach and legs are flabby, it's because you're eating too much or not exercising enough," says Klauer. "Leggings don't affect your legs positively or negatively -- they're neutral."
While she admits that a too-tight legging on a chunky person can emphasize the wrong things and a fuller figure might look better in a semi-fitted, more relaxed pant, the clothes themselves "can't make you fat or skinny."
As for the idea that muscles "switch off and relax" when sporting leggings, New Jersey-based dietitian and exercise physiologist Felicia Stoler says there's no credibility to that statement from an anatomical or physiological perspective.
"Our muscles work when you use them, not by putting on certain garments" explains Stoler, the author of "Living Skinny in Fat Genes." "Clothing has no impact on muscle fiber utilization," she says whether its leggings, jeggings, jeans or sweat pants.
Stoler wears leggings herself, especially when working out. "They're comfortable and I'm not looking for any other value from them."
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Leave a Comment:
Is this article for real? I've never read anything this stupid. There's no use arguing points because it's all fantasy and the person who decided to print this doesn't know anything about comfort - and comfort does not involve anything as tight as something that would hold in your stomach or leg muscles. LOL!
I wear leggings every day and they do not hold in anything. They are just really stretchy pants not spanx. Anyone who is wearing leggings that tight is already fat. The only thing I can think of that would make girls who wear leggings fat is that they don't realize their more rigid clothes don't fit anymore because they're in opaque panty hose..
And this article was posted to waste my time and tell me nothing? I don't find it funny, I find it absurd. It's why I only look at MSNBC for "fluff" and get my real news from Fox. Good work MSNBC!
If you are getting your news from Fox then you are certainly a moron. You would probably glean more newsworthy information from the funny papers.
Hey now. Play nice!
I personally don't care for Fox's website. I don't like the way it's set up. I'd rather read my news on MSNBC.
It isn't the article itself that is stupid. It's the fact that they gave some twit real ' ink-time' over it. Someone actually sat down with pad and pencil and actually listened to what this idiot said. That is the sad part.
Overeating and not moving makes one fat, to think otherwise is absurd
Everybody knows it's sweat pants that make you fat .
Leggings making me fat? WTF? I wear them for comfort and style, and they make my legs look great.lol! Okay, so those 35 years of ballet helped too...
Don't blame a pair of pants for your lack of physical fitness.
Oh yeah! Professional cyclists, runners, swimmers, tri-athletes -- they all look like tubbos to me...
Leggings don't make you fat. Shoving too much bad food in your mouth makes you fat.
I know that leggings can lead to less noticeable weight gain. My aunt told me and her explanation makes a helluva lot more sense than this article. When you wear stretchy stuff, it stretches to accomodate the flab. Some folks base weight gain because their jeans fit tighter than before.
I think your aunt was absolutely right. If you don't weigh yourself regularly but you wear stretchy stuff all the time, you can gain at least five pounds or so before you even notice the difference. That makes sense. This article, on the other hand, sounds like hogwash to me.
I have noticed that leggings do tend to make you fart,I think the tightness tends to force the gas out.
LOL! Now that's a new one!
thanks! I needed a good laugh today! lol!
And when you do, you can tie them into balloon animal shapes! BONUS!
I really doubt there is enough scientific evidence in this study to prove that leggings "make you fat". Leggings are no different than tights worn by svelte dancers and performers who are certainly not fat. What makes you fat is eating too much for the amount of exercise you get. Nothing "makes you fat". You allow yourself to become fat by not exercising enough and eating too much.
The Daily Mail is a trashy UK tabloid just only slightly better than the National Enquirer; Americans can safely disregard this MSNBC article which cites it as a source.
Well, the comments are much more fun to read than the ridiculous article itself, so I suppose thanks to the Daily News and MSNBC? Although you have to admit all of us looked up the article, at least they came up with a catchy headline...
oh wow! I'm just lucky to have found your article as I also love to wear leggings, I mean, all the time! But probably someday, you'd be needing help in search for a perfect personal trainer, you can check out <a href="">yipees.com</a> for their selection of great services for whatever you basically need!
oh wow! I'm just lucky to have found your article as I also love to wear leggings, I mean, all the time! But probably someday, you'd be needing help in search for a perfect personal trainer, you can check out yipees.com for their selection of great services for whatever you basically need!
very nice info. I really found it helpful. thanks
Thanks for information on <a href="">Weight Loos</a> can effect with Eggings.
ok, just to clear up what many people seem to have trouble understanding... this article does NOT tell you that leggings will make your legs fat. instead, it is "fact-checking" the rumor that had been going around saying that leggings could make your legs fat.
this article actually concludes that this particular rumor is baseless and that leggings/clothing do NOT make a person fat.
so you can be upset that they actually addressed what might be a silly rumor, but you can't be mad that this article is "telling you that leggings make your legs fat."