How High Fashion can be bad for your health!

It’s only natural that we want to look and dress like our favourite stars. However, many of us are ignoring the health risks posed by copying their style as printed in New Magazine.

Did you know, for example, that some clothes contain harmful chemicals that have been linked to cancer? Or that wearing certain sunglasses may cause you more harm than good?

Victoria Beckham is probably the ultimate slave to fashion, but the 34 year old Spice Girl is paying the price for her style addiction. Painful bunions have developed on the stiletto slave’s feet, but you still won’t catch her in flats.

Meanwhile, Girls Aloud singer Sarah Harding’s, 36, hit the headlines recently suffering from a bad back due to constantly carrying big handbags.

From massive bags to platform shoes, the catwalk for this season was full of potential health perils. We take a look at what harm fashion could do to your health, and how to dress safely.

Big Bags

Sported by the likes of Nicole Richie, 26, large bags are all the rage. But not with chiropractor Tim Hutchful of the British Chiropractic Association, “These are my pet hates!” he says. “Because they’re big, people overstuff them. I’ve even seen women with hairdryers in these bags, which can weigh up to 2 ½ kg when empty thanks to all the leather and buckles”. The weight of the bags and the way we carry them over one shoulder or arm can cause muscle imbalance, leading to pain, and knee and hip problems too. Tim advises keeping the weight to a minimum, carrying on alternate shoulders or swapping big bags for rucksacks.

Shoes

Wedges and platforms may do wonders for your legs, but they can be hard to walk in. Thousands of women are admitted to casualty each year in the UK for shoe-related injuries, and one died in Japan after falling off her heels and fracturing her skull. High heels are also linked to joint disease osteoarthritis. If you wear shoes that are too small, you could get foot and leg pain. Other ailments caused by shoes include bent toes, corns, calluses and ingrown toenails. To avoid these problems, flat shoes or low heels are best, or just wear heels and pointy shoes on special occasions, and always buy shoes that are comfortable and fit properly. Podiatric surgeon Mike O’Neill advises sticking to heels no more than 1½in high. “High heels change the angle of your body as they throw you forward”, he says. “You then have to change the position of your pelvis and the whole of you lower back. This puts stress on your joints, tendons and nerves, and can lead to back pain and even headaches”.

Underwear

Cotton undies may not always be the sexiest, but wearing nylon knickers makes you more susceptible to thrush. Thongs may rid you of the dreaded visible panty line, but they also increase the risk of thrush and cystitis by spreading bacteria from your anus to your vagina, so try not to wear them too often. Bras that don’t fit properly can cause neck and shoulder pain, ruin you posture and chafe your skin. Get measured next time you buy a bra – a survey of 1,000 women found more than 90 per cent wore the wrong size. Chiropractor Tim says, “Wearing the wrong bra can aggravate your posture and stoop you forward. Your muscles are then forced to work much harder and this can lead to pain in the neck, upper back and arms”.

Toxic Dye

Dyes and chemicals in clothes can cause skin problems, and cancer, harm immune and nervous systems, affect genital development and cause reproductive disorders. It is believed the most hazardous substances used in textiles are nickel, chromium IV, aryl amines, phthalates, lead and formaldehyde. The chemicals used to grow cotton remain in the fabric and are released during the lifetime of the garments. Hazardous chemicals are also used on wool – for example in sheep dips, which have been linked with illness among sheep farms. Certain dyes are thought to cause cancer. In many parts of the world, garments are dyed or bleached using toxic chemicals. Virtually all polycotton – especially bed line – plus all “easy care”, “crease resistant” and “permanent press” cotton is treated with the poisonous chemical formaldehyde. Try organic clothes if you want to cut down on your toxic load.

Skinny Jeans

Lindsay Lohan, 21, loves her leggings so much she probably sleeps in them. But, as thrush thrives in warm, dark conditions, they’re best worn sparingly. The same goes for skinny jeans and tights. Tight trousers can cause blockage of your pores, leading to infections around the waist and thighs, and limit the mobility of hip joints, affecting your spine. Chiropractor Tim says, “Wearing restrictive clothing can put more pressure on your spine, sooner or later, something’s going to give, but it might not happen straight away. We’re looking at pulled muscles and slipped discs”. Ouch!

Belts

Cinching in your waist with a belt like Dita Von Teese, 35, may show off your curves but medical studies have shown that having a too-tight waist can affect your immune system and circulation, and reduce your lymph flow from the pelvis. So loosen up! And as back specialist Tim has already said, restrictive clothing puts added stress on your spine. However, if you choose your belt carefully, you can still go for this look. “Elasticated belts aren’t bad because they’re dynamic and allow for movement”, he explains.

Sunglasses

Not all of us can afford a new pair of designer shades every season like sunglasses lover Paris Hilton, 27. But some shades may do more harm than good if they don’t give you adequate protection from the sun’s UV rays. Always look for a pair that meets the European Standard BS EN 1836:1997, indicated by a CE mark. You risk developing cataracts at a younger age if you wear dark-tinted sunglasses that let in UV rays.

Credit: New Magazine

This entry was posted on Friday, June 26th, 2009 at 2:51 pm and is filed under Family Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.