Liposuction might be a quick and easy way to shave unwanted fat from the body, but it may not be the safest solution especially for those who don’t exercise afterwards.
A new study from the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil showed that for those who don’t exercise after having liposuction, a dangerous kind of fat known as ‘visceral fat’ can return to the body. The result can leave patients in a less healthy state than they were before the operation.
The complete the study, researchers gathered a group of 36 healthy women between the ages of 20 and 35, to have liposuction. Liposuction is an invasive procedure that suctions fat out of subcutaneous fat cells that lie just beneath the skin’s surface.
The participants each had two to three pounds of fat removed from their abdomen, although each of the women was at a normal weight before the operation. To be approved for the study, participants had to remain inactive, doing virtually no exercise, for the six months leading up to the study. After the procedure, half of the women were asked to exercise three days a week while the other half were asked to abstain from anything more than their everyday activities.
Previous studies have shown that when fat is removed from animals and humans, it always ended up returning to the body a few months or year later. But the more concerning part was that it didn’t always return to the area from which it was removed, and it often came back as a new dangerous type of lard that laid roots deep inside abdomen tissue.
This fat, known as visceral fat, is “a fatty tissue that twines around organs and produces and releases biochemical substances known to increase the risk for heart disease and diabetes,” according to an article from The New York Times. For this reason, visceral fat is considered to be far more dangerous than subcutaneous fat.
Results from the Brazil study, which were published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, showed that the group of women who exercised after the procedure did not show fat gain up to four months later. However, the half that did not exercise regained the fat that was removed, and it came back as visceral fat.
Researchers from the University of Sao Paulo believe that liposuction “triggers a compensatory increase of visceral fat, which is effectively counteracted by physical activity.” And they also concluded that if a person is to undergo liposuction, it is “important, if not essential, that this person exercises after the surgery.”
This study has brought to light another concern that there’s a trend among liposuction patients to avoid exercise after the surgery. But this, they say, is the exact opposite mentality for someone undergoing the procedure.
Our view is that liposuction should be a last alternative for weight loss to begin with. But if it is the route you decide to take, be sure to incorporate exercise into your daily routine to avoid any serious health risks after the procedure is completed.
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