The number of people undergoing liposuction has risen by 90% in just one year - prompting experts to warn it is not a solution for obesity.
The number of people undergoing liposuction has risen by 90% in just one year - prompting experts to warn it is not a solution for obesity.
More than 100,000 British men and women had cosmetic surgery last year in the everlasting search for the body beautiful. Doctors are talking of a surgery epidemic.
With adverts filling magazines and newspapers, cut-price offers and celebrity endorsement suggesting it is more akin to a haircut than risky surgery with occasionally devastating consequences, liposuction and other body-enhancing procedures are becoming commonplace.
Channel 4's Nicky Hambleton-Jones freshens up her contestants in 10 Years Younger with cosmetic surgery, makeovers, new clothes and hairdos while in Nip/Tuck, the action unfolds in a cosmetic surgery clinic in Miami.
It may be voyeuristic television but it only serves to popularise surgery, making it appear normal and uneventful.
As a result, plastic surgery is becoming a lifestyle choice rather than medical necessity.
The liposuction operation has jumped from being the eighth most popular cosmetic procedure in 2005 to the third most popular in 2006, behind breast and eyelid surgery.
According to figures from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), 3986 liposuctions were carried out last year - up from 2099 in 2005.
BAAPS said other operations - such as breast surgery and nose jobs - had also seen a rise.
A total of 28,921 procedures were carried out by BAAPS surgeons in 2006 - against the 22,041 figure for 2005.
But Sally Taber, from Independent Healthcare Advisory Services, said the total number of operations carried out by all UK plastic surgeons could actually be three times higher - at around 90,000.
The BAAPS figures showed that anti-ageing procedures were popular, with facelifts up 44% on the previous year, eyelid surgery up 48%, and brow lifts up 50%.
Of the 28,921 procedures, 26,469 (92%) were performed on women, who accounted for 19,601 in the previous year.
More than 9300 women had breast surgery, while nose jobs were the most popular procedure among men, with 525 undertaken by BAAPS surgeons. Men also opted for eyelid surgery (506), liposuction (494), ears pinned back or altered (397) and face and neck lifts (190).
Rajiv Grover, consultant plastic surgeon said: "Judging by the dramatic rise in certain procedures, it is clear we are becoming a more body-image conscious society.
"However, it is important to note liposuction and tummy tucks are not a treatment for weight management or obesity: they are body contouring procedures for patients near or already at ideal body weight."
