Why baggy jeans are healthier

The term ‘fashion victim’ is all too apt if you have fallen for the latest skin tight jeans as doctors are reporting patients with ‘tingling’ in their legs and a feeling of disorientation. It’s a condition called meralgia paresthetica, that occurs when constant pressure cuts off the lateral femoral subcutaneous nerve, causing a numb, tingling or burning sensation along the thigh. It’s more usually seen in construction workers or police officers with heavy, low-slung belts, pregnant women or obese people and also can result from a pulled-tight seat belt in a car accident. However, the new cases are self inflicted as skin tight jeans compress the nerve and if you team your jeans with high heels you are increasing the risk of this numbing as the heels tilt the pelvis forward, increasing the pressure on the nerve.Luckily the damage is rarely permanent, but swapping for something less restricting would be a good health – if not fashion – move. Time to get those baggy jeans out of the wardrobe?