Those who hate their chubby thighs and are planning on a spot of liposuction, may want to reconsider their options after reading recent research. According to a new study, fat which is removed from one area of the body using liposuction, will eventually reappear in other areas, leaving the patient with similar levels of fat as before.



Liposuction has been used since the 1970s and is a relatively simple surgical process that involves inserting a tube under the skin, which then literally sucks out the fat using a vacuum pump. The procedure has grown in popularity as a ‘quick weight loss’ solution for removing those stubborn areas of fat which refuse to budge through normal dieting. Currently, there are around 450,000 liposuction carried out in the US each year.

The study, by Dr Teri Hernandez and Robert Eckel of the University of Colorado, involved the comparison of 32 healthy women in their mid-30s and of average weight. From these women, 14 were randomly selected for the liposuction procedure whereby they would have small amounts of fat removed from their hips and thighs. The remaining 18 women would be acting as the control group. All the women were willing and able to undergo hip and thigh liposuction surgery and as an added incentive, all were promised the procedure at a reduced rate.

In order to properly assess the differences in fat levels between the two groups, all women had their measurements taken and recorded at various intervals throughout the year. At the same time, they all had to agree not to change their current lifestyle habits which could compromise the results.

The researchers findings were quite astounding. While the women who underwent the liposuction treatment initially lost 2.1 percent of their fat compared with only 0.28 percent for the control group, one year later the difference in fat levels was ‘no longer significant.’

The women who received liposuction on their hips and thighs had simply grown new fat cells in other areas of their body, most notably on the upper abdomen, shoulders or arms. Apparently these results mimic what had previously been found after tests carried out on rats.

According to Dr Rudolph Leibel, an obesity researcher at the University of Columbia, the areas that undergo liposuction have their fat cells destroyed and new cells don’t grow back. Unfortunately, the body compensates for its loss of fat and instead sprouts new fat cells in other areas. As Dr Leibel said, ‘It’s another chapter in the “You can’t fool Mother Nature” story.’

While such side effects may well cause people to have second thoughts before undergoing liposuction in the future, it didn’t deter all the women in the control group, since more than half of them decided to continue with the surgery, despite knowing that fat was likely to settle in other areas. And among the women who had already undergone liposuction, all were happy to have lost their unwanted hip and thigh fat, even though it had resulted in new areas of fat.

This discovery provides a new and fascinating insight into the ways the human body works. However, it does pose a new dilemma for those considering undergoing liposuction in the future. As well as the usual risks associated with surgery, patients will now have to decide whether they are willing to swap their saddlebags for beefy arms or a weightier stomach. Perhaps it’s the perfect incentive to eat a healthy diet.