Michele Koebke, 24, said she only removed the corset to shower and even slept in it, the Huffington Post reports.

"I started binding at the end of 2009," Ms Koebke said.

"I can bind [my waist] down to 41 cm. I want to get to 38 cm.

The current record holder is American Cathie Jung whose corseted waist is 38.1cm.

Ms Koebke said she had suffered in her pursuit of the world record.

The 24-year-old is often short of breath and struggles to support herself when she is not wearing a corset.

The tiny-framed German cannot stomach normal-sized meals and now eats ten small meals a day.

Despite the discomfort Ms Koebke said she was determined to break the record.