Are leggings bad for you?

Leggings are one of those garments you either love or you hate, but we think they're awesome. They're  great for the gym or hanging around at home, but they're equally wonderful with a tunic and boots or  layered under a dress for warmth in the winter. And while they're beyond comfortable and seem to hold all your jiggly bits in place, they may actually be bad for you. Say it ain't so!

British physiotherapist Sammy Margo says that while leggings feel slimming and wonderful, they're making your muscles lazy. "They hold in and support the quadriceps (thigh muscles), buttocks and core muscles in your tummy, and do the job the muscles are supposed to do," Margo told the Daily Mail. "As a result, the muscles are allowed to relax and switch off, so when we reveal our bodies for the first time as summer approaches, they are not as svelte or firm as they otherwise would be."

Wow, so while we got  lazy about fashion, our bodies got lazy too? Margo added that by wearing leggings all the time we're just ignoring the problem. "Leggings hide the bits of our bodies we don’t like, such as the cellulite on our legs or our 'muffin top' so we are able to ignore the problem and we are less motivated to exercise these parts." Crap, she might be right.

So in other words, a winter full of leggings will make our bodies worse off for swimsuit season. Could this mean the end of leggings? And JEGGINGS? The Daily Mail suggests walking around in ankle weights and doing core exercises with a string around your waist (what?), but we're going to hit the gym after work. Just in case.