What Ab Belts Will Help You Get Rid Of Stomach Fat?

Getting rid of excess stomach fat is a challenge, and many products claim to eliminate it quickly and without a lot of effort. One of those products is the ab belt, which uses electrical impulses to make muscles contract, reportedly to tone the abdominal muscles and reduce weight. Despite some increases in muscle strength, claims that the belts help you lose weight are false, according to the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC.

How They Work

Electronic muscle stimulating, or EMS, devices have long been used as part of the rehabilitation process for those recovering from injury or surgery, according to Laura Johannes of The Wall Street Journal. The ab belts are EMS devices that work using the same principles as the rehabilitative devices. They have small electrodes attached to the belt that contact the skin on the abdomen and send a mild electric impulse to the muscles. The impulses cause the muscles to contract, which is similar to what happens when you do an exercise such as a situp, thereby strengthening the muscle. The belts are typically used from 10 minutes to an hour at a time. The majority of EMS devices that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are for rehabilitation purposes only.

Claims

Several companies have made claims that their ab belts increase strength, reduce girth around the midsection, promote weight loss and are a viable replacement for exercise. What some of these companies failed to mention is that the people using the ab belts were on a specific diet and exercise regimen geared toward weight loss when they produced these results. In response, the FTC pressed charges against three of those manufacturers in 2002, accusing them of making misleading claims.

Studies

A 41-person study led by researcher John Porcari and published in the "Journal of Sports Science and Medicine" in 2005 found that those who used an ab belt for eight weeks but did not exercise gained significant strength in the abdomen and a reduction in waist size. However, they had no change in body weight or skin-fold thickness in the abdomen. A control group who did not exercise and did not use the ab belt experienced no change at all. A follow-up study done in 2007 by the same researcher -- using a control group who used a sham EMS device that offered no actual stimulation -- found similar results with the exception that there was no reduction in girth in those using the EMS. The reduction in waist size in the 2005 study was attributed to the contracted muscles "sucking in" the waist.

Spot Reduction Myth

The main reason that EMS devices like the ab belt do not reduce weight is the same reason situps do not burn fat around the abdomen; both are examples of "spot reduction," or focused exercise to reduce fat in a specific area. But spot reduction is a myth, according to the American Council on Exercise, or ACE. Calories burned by doing situps only get rid of fat if they contribute to overall weight loss in the body. Any fat loss that occurs due to performing situps is evenly distributed across the body, according to ACE. The only real way to lose weight, and therefore stomach fat, was summed up in a statement made by then-FTC Chairman Timothy J. Muris, who said, "Unfortunately, there are no magic pills, potions, or pulsators for losing weight and getting into shape. The only winning combination is changing your diet and exercise."