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Liposuction: No substitute for weight loss through exercise, dieting

Liposuction, performed on nearly 400,000 Americans each year, is the most common cosmetic operation. To find out whether a reduction in body fat via liposuction would reduce the effects of metabolic syndrome, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis conducted a study involving 15 obese women–eight of whom had diabetes and seven of whom did not. Results are reported in today’s New England Journal of Medicine, and the results are not good for those unwilling to make the lifestyle modifications needed for metabolic syndrome.

The women were assessed before and 10–12 weeks after abdominal liposuction. Despite an average 12% loss in body weight, no improvements were seen in blood pressure, insulin levels, cholesterol levels, and other cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors. Had the women lost the same amount of weight through dieting and exercise, the women’s cardiovascular risk factors would have improved, explained authors by Samuel Klein, director of the University's Center for Human Nutrition, and colleagues. In an editorial in the Journal, David Kelley of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center wrote that the study "provides useful objective evidence that even large-volume liposuction has little effect on insulin sensitivity or cardiovascular risk factors."

One positive note about liposuction—patients who have liposuction often do change their lifestyle and habits, and take other steps to further reduce their weight, leading to health benefits.

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