A growing number of men are interested in having cosmetic surgery, scientists from UCLA report in the Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Among the men surveyed, 23 percent said they would be interested in surgery, with 17 percent expressing possible interest. "Interest in cosmetic surgery is far more widespread than we had anticipated," said UCLA's David Frederick. "The majority of women expressed some interest in cosmetic surgery, and more than one-third of men expressed some degree of interest, which I found really surprising. We know there is tremendous pressure for women to be thin and have a certain appearance and for men to be fit and muscular, but I would not have guessed that so many people would be interested in surgical body alteration."
Interestingly, the survey revealed that 21 percent of women and 11 percent of men described themselves as unattractive, and 31 percent of women and 16 percent of men reported feeling so uncomfortable in a swimsuit that they avoid wearing one in public.
Frederick was surprised to find no relation between people's body image and their interest in cosmetic surgery — even those without a poor body image expressed interest in surgical alteration. "This isn't about poor body image," he explained. "People interested in cosmetic surgery did not report less satisfaction with their body or face than people who are not interested."
Nearly 11 million cosmetic surgery procedures were performed in 2006 — a 48 percent increase from 2000.
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Source: University of California - Los Angeles
