Electric Muscle Zapper as Good as 20,000 Sit-Ups...Sceptical?

It is, unarguably, the Holy Grail of slimming: a treatment that promises to deliver a toned, taut stomach and a pert bottom, without the hardship of endless dieting and a punishing exercise plan.

Now a breakthrough medical device, which mimics the effect of 20,000 sit-ups in one 30-minute session, is promising to do just that.

The EMsculpt, launched this week in a number of UK clinics, is a non-invasive therapy that simultaneously hones and tones midriffs and buttocks by blasting the body with high-intensity focused electromagnetic (HIFEM) energy.

Rapid pulses of these waves – emitted from paddles the size and shape of a large iron that can be strapped to the body – activate the nerves that control the muscles, making them contract spontaneously.

The intensity can be dialled up or down, depending on the patient’s comfort level.

At maximum, it can cause over ten muscle contractions a second. As the treatment taps directly into the nerves, it is able to target the entire muscle, rather than the 40 per cent that can be activated by consciously tensing.

Although non-invasive body sculpting treatments, dubbed ‘flab zappers’, are not new, this is the first to target the muscles as well as fat layer. This means it could be helpful for new mothers suffering from a condition called diastasis recti, in which the largest abdominal muscles separate during pregnancy, and fail to ‘knit’ back together after birth, leading to a ‘saggy’ stomach appearance.

Seven studies of the treatment, which costs £750 a session and can be carried out while fully clothed, have been held, with remarkable results. The research used photographs and computerised tomography scans – which show the inside of the body, including soft tissues, in a similar way to X-rays – to assess the effectiveness.

They showed that four sessions of EMsculpt can reduce the depth of the fat layer that covers the stomach by up to 20 per cent, or 3.4mm on average, and boost abdominal muscle size by 18 per cent. Waist circumference decreased in one trial by 3cm after the fourth cycle.

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