Gabe Mirkin, M.D.
No. The US Federal Trade Commission ordered the
makers of belts that send an electrical impulse into the belly
muscles must stop advertising that the devices build muscle and
get rid of fat. The manufacturers have agreed to stop promoting
these devices as a weight-loss and muscle-building tool. They
had spent $12 million on half-hour television spots, to make their
ad one of the most aired infomercials in the country.
Muscles contract when your brain sends an electrical
impulse down nerves. Muscles also contract when an electric
wire sends electrical impulses over muscles. However, there is
no data to show that the contractions caused by electrical
impulses will enlarge muscles or get rid of fat the way that
exercise does.
May 1, 2006