Can a girdle really help one lose weight? We're seeing quite a few girdle and compression garment products making this claim.

Today we read in a UK newspaper that a woman named Ciara has gone from a size 16 to a size eight in just 12 weeks by using 'a revolutionary new product', Lipo Contour.

They say "Lipo Contour is made from a patented fabric, which gives a constant gentle massage, increasing blood circulation and helping to break down fatty deposits (cellulite), giving you smoother and firmer skin. The constant massage action also aids the body’s lymphatic drainage process, which eliminates excess toxins in the body. The product features a combination of double and triple layers of this special fabric to target specific problem areas i.e. hips, thighs, bottom and stomach. The compression action combined with the constant massage function also leads to inch loss..."

Lipo Contour makes a similar claim on their site. It sounds seriously scientific:

"The sheath is made of thin elastic fabric with areolae stitches helping perspiration and, during the daily movement, it induces a lymphatic and connective micro massage for 12 hours per days during a period of 8 weeks. It allows the re-absorption of oedema from the staunching of the interstitial liquids peculiar to the genesis and to the autokeeping of the so called "cellulites", helping the drainage through compressions gradually decreasing, oriented in caudal cranial direction, following the lymphatic vessel course and showing, very clearly, the typical effects of the sheath in the areas it treats, with significant changes in what concerns the circumference reduction of thighs, hips, glutei, and the improvement of the orange-peel look of the skin in 75% of the cases."

We are a tad skeptical that one can lose weight without exercise or change in diet but merely by wearing a compression garment every day. But Lipo Contour is just one of many products making this claim. See also the Squeem compression garment and the Taut Belly Wrap.