What’s the Deal With Khloe Kardashian’s Sauna Suit?

Khloe Kardashian says that wearing a sauna suit during workouts helped her slim down. (Photo: Getty Images)

Keeping up with the rest of her family, Khloe Kardashian is all about sharing the details of her life. The 32-year-old reality star, who claims to have lost about 35 pounds, revealed on her personal app that wearing a specific outfit during her hardcore workouts has been contributing to her leaner look.

The soon-to-be ex-wife of Lamar Odom wrote about the benefits of exercising while donning a sauna suit. Here’s what she had to say:

“Sauna suits aren’t very expensive because they’re ‘trash bag’ material,” she revealed. “You can buy a top and pants, but they’re sold separately. I wear just the jacket, but I have worn both before. They supposedly insulate your heat and elevate your body temperature so they double, or triple, the amount you would sweat.”

Is there any validity to the claims about Khloe’s latest workout craze? For one thing, sauna suits aren’t new to the world of exercise. Made from plastic, vinyl, or rubber, these garments have been worn by wrestlers in order to increase perspiration during training and achieve a quick reduction in those numbers on the scale.

“Yes, you will sweat more and lose water, leading to weight loss, known as rapid weight loss,” Heather A. Hausenblas, PhD, a professor of kinesiology who specializes in physical activity and healthy aging at Jacksonville University, tells Yahoo Beauty. “However, most of the weight loss is water, so you will regain the weight right after you rehydrate.”

In fact, she adds that this workout practice has been discouraged for athletes, since “research indicates that it negatively affects physical and cognitive abilities.”

The reason: Exercising in a sauna suit (which can be designed with a hood and elastic cuffs to further insulate the body and amp up your own heat) can result in severe dehydration. And under certain conditions — such as doing an intense workout while wearing a sauna suit in a hot climate — it can lead to heat stroke, a potentially life-threatening condition in which the body temperature rises to above 105 degrees and brings on numerous symptoms, including severe headache, confusion, slurred speech, seizures, nausea, vomiting, and rapid, shallow breathing.

Lastly, keep in mind that more huffing and puffing during a workout isn’t linked to losing more body fat. “Real weight loss occurs because of what you are doing that makes you sweat — it’s not because of sweating,” says Hausenblas.

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