Surprisingly Safe and Effective.

• Position: SAUNA SUITS

With more than two in three adults in the U.S. considered overweight, there is an always-growing demand for products, diets, and exercise programs to help people shed pounds, often with disappointing results. Are claims that exercising in a neoprene "sauna suit" helps burn more calories and yields additional health benefits accurate or simply too good to be true?

The results of an eight-week study--performed by Lance C. Dalleck, associate professor in the Department of Recreation, Exercise & Sport Science at Western State Colorado University, Gunnison--may leave skeptics surprised. The study involved obese or overweight participants with sedentary lifestyles. Participants were divided into three groups: those who exercised five days a week for 45 minutes while wearing a sauna suit; those who performed an identical exercise program without a sauna suit; and those who did not exercise at all. Before and after the program, researchers measured a number of indicators of health, from blood pressure to body-fat percentage.

After eight weeks, researchers measured significant health improvements in both of the groups that exercised...