5 fashion habits that are bad for your health

The fashion trends you're following can cause serious damage to your body

Following fashion trends has become increasingly important over the years, with women going to all lengths to achieve the looks they see on runways and in advertisements. But some fashion habits might actually be doing more harm than you realize. Here are five fashion habits that are detrimental to your health, according to StyleCaster and The Loop:

1. Wearing high heels

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Anyone who has worn high heels for a few hours knows the pain that accompanies them. While that pain is not enough to deter women from wearing these highly fashionable shoes, this might be: Wearing high heels forces you to walk on the ball of your feet, making your torso lean forward. And it does not just end there. It also puts a lot of stress on your spine and over time your spinal discs compress. Blisters and pain in toes, calves, hips and back also spring up due to prolonged wear.



2. Carrying a big bag

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While big bags are totally the rage right now, they aren’t doing your body any good. The bigger the bag the more it is likely to weigh; and because women usually carry their bags on one side, this uneven weight distribution causes many problems like muscle imbalances and alignment concerns. One shoulder may eventually be higher than the other because of the imbalance, and as the torso shifts to counterbalance the uneven weight, your spine may also suffer leading to back, neck and shoulder pains.



3. Wearing heavy jewellery

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Wearing heavy jewellery like earrings and bangles on a regular basis can also be harmful. Heavy earrings stretch your piercings by pulling down your ear lobes, and can worsen a condition called anterior head carriage. It also causes headaches and neck pains. Heavy bangles cause similar damage to your wrists – altering the alignment and irritating the radial nerve.



4. Wearing flip flops

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Like heels, flip flops are also harmful if worn for extended periods because they don’t provide the foot the support it needs – especially under the arch and heel. Pain in the lower back, heels, knees and the ball of the foot (caused by dropped metatarsals) occurs when you walk too much in flip flops. It also causes calf muscles to tighten, shin splints and blisters.



5. Wearing tight clothes

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Trying to fit into clothes that are smaller than your size or too tight for you is really harmful. Habits such as sucking in your stomach deprive your cells of oxygen which restricts blood flow and slows down your metabolism – affecting your concentration and performance in whatever you do. It also means that you’re breathing from your chest instead of your stomach and this causes a host of problems like shoulder and neck tension, headaches, stomach aches, and even depression and anxiety. This goes for footwear too – an ill-fitted shoe can permanently damage your bone structure.

So, try to limit or eliminate these habits. You don’t need to compromise your health in the name of fashion!