Health: Liposuction's Limits

Surgery makes you slimmer, but it may not make you any healthier. Here's why

AMERICA'S WAISTLINE

Doctors have long suspected that excess fat around the belly--as opposed to the thighs or hips--increases the chances of developing heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. Apparently, abdominal fat doesn't just lie there and jiggle. It actively promotes ill health by, among other things, pumping out inflammatory proteins and interfering with the body's ability to use insulin. So it seemed plausible to many physicians that surgically removing belly fat by liposuction could give patients a double benefit: a slimmer physique and a better metabolic profile.

That's why there was such disappointment with the news, reported in the...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!