Waste job

Liposuction of fat around your waist can only make you look better. It doesn8217;t reduce your health risks, says new research

Three months ago, 35-year-old Shivani Rai weighed 90 kg. Her blood pressure was high and she was diagnosed with diabetes. The doctor8217;s order was clear: she had to shed the excess weight. Rai did so by going in for liposuction. 8220;I didn8217;t have the time to join a gym or to take care of my diet as I work more than 14 hours a day,8221; she said. Today, her weight is 67 kg but her health has shown no improvement.

A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine explains why. Having pounds of flesh removed from the belly surgically only makes you look slimmer; it doesn8217;t protect you from heart disease and diabetes. The study involved 15 obese women who underwent cosmetic liposuction. The women8217;s blood chemistry and pressure, which reflect the risk of diabetes and heart disease, were checked before surgery and about three months after. Seven of these women had Type 2 diabetes. The surgeons vacuumed about 20 pounds of belly fat from all women, making them lose an average of 10.35 kg. Liposuction, however, did not lower their risk of diabetes and heart disease, both of which are fat-related.

The study found that the surgery only removed belly fat, leaving untouched a deeper layer of what is called visceral fat, found outside the abdominal wall and around the organs. 8220;The secretions from the visceral fat go directly to the liver and may interfere with the roles it plays in helping regulate levels of glucose and cholesterol in the blood,8221; says Dr Rajeev Sharma, consultant, cosmetic surgery, Apollo Hospitals. 8220;You cannot count on improving your risk factors against heart disease and diabetes only by getting the fat removed surgically,8221; he says.

Another reason why liposuction may not work is that it doesn8217;t affect the size of millions of fat cells that are left behind. Not only do obese people have more fat cells than lean people8212;at least 80 billion to 120 billion, as opposed to 40 billion8212;but the cells themselves are larger, with as much as 50 to 75 per cent more mass than the fat cells in a lean person. 8220;Liposuction only removes billions of fat cells that are stored in the body by vacuuming them out. Eating healthy, on the other hand, shrinks the fat cells making them less prone to release harmful substances,8221; says Dr Sakshi Chawla, senior dietician, Fortis.

Despite the lack of health benefits, Dr Anup Dhir, cosmetic surgeon, Apollo Hospitals, finds many patients opting for liposuction for the wrong reason. 8220;We do inform the patient that the surgery won8217;t make them healthy. But ultimately, it8217;s a personal choice,8221; he says.