Simple observation: As cosmetic procedures grow in both popularity and efficacy the number of people that look fit but are in fact unhealthy will rise. This is a version of the skinny-fat phenomenon. The day when chiseled abs and calves of steel are no longer fair measures of fitness is upon us. This LA Times article got me all riled up this week:

COME in on your lunch hour, have a few injections and melt away those stubborn bulges of fat. That promise has made injection lipolysis — also called lipodissolve and mesotherapy — one of the fastest-growing cosmetic procedures in the country, with centers sprouting up almost as fast as Starbucks stores. Nevermind that neither the procedure nor the drug cocktail used has FDA approval. Nevermind that Kansas and Nebraska are trying to ban the procedure. Nevermind that the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery do not condone the procedure. Nevermind that the procedure has been banned in Brazil, Canada and England.

People want a better body now.

Read the full article here.

There is no such thing as a free lunch, people. Even if this procedure is ever deemed safe by the FDA and “works” it is still an attempt to sidestep the real issue. In most cases, removing fat by lipolysis or liposuction doesn’t address the root of the problem. It simply masks it. How about removing inactivity and poor eating habits instead?

What do you think? Is there any harm in just a little body sculpting in this ultra-modern, “outside the bounds of science” sort of way?

chotda Flickr Photo (CC)

Further Reading:

Rotten Apple Award: Cellulite/Weight Loss Cream

Uno, Dos, Tres: Three Health Products Debunked

Homeopathy: Can We Please, As a Society, Let This One Go?

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