Remember those old-timey vibration belt machines? A popular weight loss device born of the 1950’s, these belts would shake your fat right off — or so the sellers hoped dieters would believe.
You’re less likely to spot someone jiggling themselves skinny with a belt these days, but vibration for weight loss didn’t disappear. It just changed shape. Wearable belts that send vibes to your midsection are used as a (medically questionable) weight loss aid. Whole-body vibration plates, or WBV, shake things up while you do squats or strength training, with promising results.
Researchers have found — on mice, at least — that the whole-body vibration method might actually mimic the benefits of exercise.
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With a person standing, sitting or lying down on a vibrating plate, WBV makes muscles contract and relax several time per second. In genetically obese and diabetic mice, WBV was as metabolically beneficial as exercise.
“Our study is the first to show that whole-body vibration may be just as effective as exercise at combatting some of the negative consequences of obesity and diabetes,” said the study’s first author, Meghan E. McGee-Lawrence, Ph.D., of Augusta University in Augusta, Ga, according to Science Daily. “While WBV did not fully address the defects in bone mass of the obese mice in our study, it did increase global bone formation, suggesting longer-term treatments could hold promise for preventing bone loss as well.”
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It’s not be substantial evidence that humans will benefit from getting all shook up, but after more research is done, WBV could be an option for people who are physically unable to exercise otherwise, or want to up their good vibes.
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