A vibrating belt machine is a device that was promoted to passively reduce body fat through the use of an oscillating or vibrating belt around the exercise subject's waist, without active exercise by the user. The device was widely promoted in the 1950s and 1960s as a way to break up abdominal fat through vibration. Early versions were devised by Swiss physician and inventor

Gustav Zander Dr. Jonas Gustav Vilhelm Zander (29 March 1835 in Stockholm – 17 June 1920) was a Swedish physician, orthopedist and one of the originators of mechanotherapy. He is known for inventing a therapeutic method of exercise carried out by means of a ...

in the late 19th century. Zander's machines were intended as a means of

massage Massage is the rubbing or kneading of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet, or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pa ...

. Another version was promoted beginning in 1927 by

John Harvey Kellogg John Harvey Kellogg (February 26, 1852 – December 14, 1943) was an American businessman, Invention, inventor, physician, and advocate of the Progressive Era, Progressive Movement. He was the director of the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Battle Cr ...

at his

Battle Creek Sanitarium The Battle Creek Sanitarium was a world-renowned health resort in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. It started in 1866 on health principles advocated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and from 1876 to 1943 was managed by Dr. John Harvey ...

, as the "Battle Creek Health Builder," with claims of additional health benefits. By the 1950s, similar devices were marketed to passively reduce fat. The devices became a common comedic element in television shows, seen in ''I Love Lucy'' and ''The Flintstones''. They remained popular through the 1960s, but fell out of fashion by the 1980s, when it had become clear that they had no fat-reducing benefits. The devices usually consisted of a platform on which the subject could stand, with a post extending upward to waist level, mounting an electric motor. One or two wide fabric belts were attached to the motor. Leaning away from the motor, a subject could "exercise" the desired portion of their body.

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{{authority control Exercise equipment Obsolete technologies 1950s fads and trends 1960s fads and trends

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