Vibrating belt machine

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.

Early versions were devised by Swiss physician and inventor Gustav Zander in the late 19th century.

[1] Another version was promoted beginning in 1927 by John Harvey Kellogg at his Battle Creek Sanitarium, as the "Battle Creek Health Builder," with claims of additional health benefits.

The devices became a common comedic element in television shows, seen in I Love Lucy and The Flintstones.

[3] 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.