Control of the Body

Today I read an article in the NYTimes Health Section about a study that was done on liposuction- not something I've ever considered doing, but it did bring up an interesting point. To recap the study was led Drs. Teri L. Hernandez and Robert H. Eckel of the University of Colorado. After randomly assigning non-obese women to have liposuction on their protuberant thighs and lower abdomen or to refrain from having the procedure, serving as controls. The women who were control subject were told that when the study was done and they had learned the results they get have the operation done at a reduced price- if they still wanted it.

"The result, published in the latest issue of Obesity, was that fat came back after it was suctioned out. It took a year, but it all returned. But it did not reappear in the women’s thighs. Instead, Dr. Eckel said, 'it was redistributed upstairs,' mostly in the upper abdomen, but also around the shoulders and triceps of the arms."   

The article brings up a great question, plastic surgery has been around since 1974, what hasn't anyone thought to run this study? Well apparently, it is difficult due to the use of scans and the variety in procedure, ever doctor has their own methods and strategies- unlike pills which are all the same. If you ask me that's a pretty weak excuse. Another reason given is that being that plastic surgery is a hands on procedure, the doctors form a deep connection with their patients and have trouble "randomizing" them. You would think that with the deep connection made, doctors would be more invested in taking precautions when it comes to their patients.

Anyway tests were done on rodents and the results also showed that the fat came back, just not in the same area where it had been removed.

"It turns out, Dr. Leibel said, that the body controls the number of its fat cells as carefully as it controls the amount of its fat. Fat cells die and new ones are born throughout life. Scientists have found that fat cells live for only about seven years and that every time a fat cell dies, another is formed to take its place."

This is what really caught my attention. I'm not into plastic surgery, but interested in fat cells. If the body controls the numbers of fat cells, how much control do we really have? In this case, the outcome of the study indicates that that the outcome does not so much depend on the surgeon, but on the biology of the fat. Obesity researchers say that they aren't surprised the fat comes back. "The body defends it's fat. If you lose weight, even by dieting, it comes back." At this, I am flabbergasted. Is this to say that we have very little control over what out body looks like. I work out, I eat well but at the end of the day will my body reject my efforts and do everything in it's power to insist the fat that I was born to have, stays there? And if this is so, what does this mean for the "curvaceous" women of color out there.

Perhaps we are up against much more than I thought. It would be interesting to look into this. What does the biology of fat for women of color say about our ability to lose the excess weight it keep it off?

Interestingly, of the women who had the surgery, they were still happy to have had the surgery, "They had hated their hips and thighs and just wanted that fat gone." And of those in the control group, more than half still went through the procedure.

To see full story: "Liposuction Study Finds That Lost Fat Returns" on the NY Times: Health