LONDON -- A television ad showing women using a corset to make their waists appear "sexy" and "tiny" has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in Britain after officials deemed it "irresponsible".
The Shop Channel aired the teleshopping ad for the Velform Miniwaist -- a waist compression garment -- which showed various women squeezing their waists, along with footage of the women before and after using the garment.
"Women are supposed to look like this, and men like this," a presenter comments during the ad. "But very often, especially as we age, we lose that figure. It’s not just you. Fortunately now, there’s a way to get that womanly figure that identifies us, that creates that fabulous, perfect and extreme hourglass figure that all women want."
One woman who demonstrated the garment in the ad stated: “I’m doing everything I can do for this waist but there has to be something else to get that teeny tiny waist like the girls in the pictures and in the magazines.”
The presenter also made reference to the Velform Miniwaist's "extreme compression bands", stating that "if you want an even smaller waist... just tighten a little more and done."
The ASA investigated the ad following a complaint from a viewer who believed it encouraged unhealthy body perceptions, and considered it to be "harmful".
According to the report, the ASA concluded that "it was irresponsible to imply that a very small waist should be aspired to and that all women should aim for that figure" and ruled that the ad must not appear again in its current form.
"Overall, we concluded that the ad encouraged unhealthy body perceptions," the report states.
Waist-compression garments have seen a rise in popularity in recent years. Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian have posted images of themselves "waist training" on social media.
A photo posted by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on May 7, 2015 at 5:23pm PDT
The trend has raised serious concerns over the safety of wearing such devices, however, with doctors warning that wearing one could interfere with breathing.