Why Liposuction Sucks (Pun Intended!)

I stumbled across an article that I thought was interesting; it discusses why liposuction doesn't work in the long run. I remember sitting in on the interview of a professorial candidate who was presenting her research on liposuction several years ago - it's been awhile, but essentially she found that liposuction did not reduce the number or volume of fat cells in the body, and that, when they are removed surgically, your body starts holding onto more fat until they are replaced, and you wind up having healthier types of fat replaced with less healthy types. There was more to it, but as I said, it’s been several years – mostly what stuck with me is that her research reinforced the fact that there is no easy, instant solution to weight loss, not surgery or pills or shakes or restrictive diets.

Anyways, the article: http://blogs.plos.org/obesitypanacea/2011/04/26/liposuction-does-not-permanently-remove-fat/

“…The authors found that a year after liposuction was performed the fat initially removed is basically all replaced, but not necessarily where you’d want it to go. Specifically, while fat removed from the thighs and buttocks tended to stay ‘off’, abdominal fat increased to essentially compensate for any initial fat reduction (regardless of whether or not abdominal fat was removed during the procedure). There was a particularly significant growth of fat in the visceral depot. So, essentially liposuction can permanently reduce fat stores in areas that may be beneficial to metabolic health (butt, hips and thighs) but increase fat stores in areas known to lead to metabolic problems (abdominal, specifically visceral fat).”

If you ever start thinking that eating well & exercising is too hard, if you ever begin to look for a shortcut, remember this: there is no shortcut! The only way to lose weight, become healthier, and – most importantly - maintain those results is to make sustainable, practical changes. I definitely have to remind myself of that sometimes! If you do it the right way, the results will be worth it & you’ll be able to continue making healthy choices for the rest of your life.

ETA: I found a great comment by the author of the article regarding the difference between losing weight by bariatric surgery (which has its own risks & complications, of course) or diet & exercise and liposuction.

"There is a very important distinction between the surgical removal of fat (taking out fat cells) and the reduction of fat through weight loss (reduction in the size of fat cells). Simply removing a bunch of fat cells does not make the remaining ones any more functional – in fact they may have to deal with a greater relative load of excess calories per given cell. On the other hand a negative energy balance (whether diet/exercise or bariatric surgery) will make all fat cells smaller and thus more metabolically functional. The latter scenario would improve insulin sensitivity while the former would not."