Can a Tummy Tuck Help with Weight Control?

Is abdominoplasty associated with permanent long-term weight reduction? This is a question researchers have been trying to find out. What had been discovered was that many tummy tuck patients had lost more weight than explained by the removal of fat and skin during their abdominoplasty! A new pilot study showed evidence that in patients with a body mass index greater than 54 percent body fat the answer might be “Yes.”

With the rate of obesity continuing to climb in the United States, many people are turning to cosmetic surgery, including abdominoplasty and liposuction. However, these are not ideal ways to lose weight. Ideally, diet and exercise are used for weight loss and maintenance. Of course, after weight loss there are often tough pockets of fat that cannot be “worked off,” or in cases of extreme weight loss, there can be excess skin that is detrimental to health. These are indications for surgical procedures. But the ideal is not always possible and sometimes overweight and obese patients do qualify as candidates for abdominoplasty. By the way, obese is defined as an adult who has a Body Mass Index of 30 or higher by the Center for Disease Control. “Body mass index” or BMI is calculated by using a weight to height ratio. The BMI calculation gives the percentage of fat compared to muscle, that is in your body.

The purpose of study was to determine if patients successfully obtained weight reduction after abdominoplasty, and if they did, why? The study found that patients with a BMI of 54 or greater tended to have more success and lost more weight in the long term than their normal weight counterparts! What could account for this? One hypothesis to come out of this study was “the greater the amount of fat cells removed, the greater the impact on the neuroendocrine milieu regulating satiety and weight balance.” So it is possible that more fat cells removed equals better satiation! In other words, the less fat you have, the more full you feel after you eat. The body is a system of checks and balances, a combination of complex relationships that  maintain homeostasis. To put it simply, fat secretes hormones that effect your central nervous system, which in turn communicates how full you are to your brain. If you are interested in the biochemistry, read the Pilot Study. This study has shown the need for more research to be done on surgical procedures to help  overweight and obese patients.

At Little Rock Cosmetic Surgery Center, tummy tucks and liposuction are performed by a board certified cosmetic surgeon and you can come in for a consultation.

Call Melinda at the front desk to set up a consultation at 501-227-0707