Bodies Beautiful : Residents Are Into Cosmetic Surgery and Personal Trainers

NEWPORT BEACH — Snip and tuck. Pump it up. Newport Beach is into self-improvement.

Nearly two in 10 women have had some plastic surgery. Fifteen percent of the population who make more than $100,000 a year have had cosmetic improvements. One in 10 has a personal trainer, according to a Times Orange County Poll.

“I used to do one face lift a month, now I do three a week,” said Dr. David Benvenuti, who specializes in plastic surgery and caters mostly to a Newport Beach clientele. “There are a lot more breast implants and I do liposuction by the liter.”

It doesn’t come cheaply and takes a Newport Beach income to afford. For $5,000, there’s the basic face lift. Liposuction treatment costs between $2,000 and $4,000. Extracting fat from eyelids costs $2,400. Because of costly litigation, breast implants have jumped from $3,000 for either saline or silicone to $4,000 for saline and $5,000 for silicone, Benvenuti said.

Benvenuti has noticed a change in his practice.

Time was when people came into his office in a desperate bid to save a failing marriage or because they were totally fed up with their looks and had no other alternative.

“Now they come in quite a bit earlier,” he said. “They’re tired of the young whippersnapper down the hall who just got a promotion, or they want to add some spice to a relationship. I had a guy just yesterday who gave his girlfriend some breasts for Valentine’s Day.”

And while the surgical help is increasing, so is the move toward bodybuilding or body sculpting with the help of personal trainers in Newport Beach.

About 15% to 20% of the 750-member Shape Up Newport, an exclusive fitness center on Irvine Avenue, have personal trainers, reports Doug Katona, the company’s vice president. About 80% to 85% of his members live in Newport Beach. Most are women from 38 to 45, he said.

Personal trainers, who supervise weight-training programs, make recommendations on nutrition and offer other health-related advice, cost $35 an hour at Shape Up Newport and usually work with each member three to five hours per week.

Marion Jacobson, 40, spent $400 a month for a personal trainer she engaged three times weekly to devise a personalized exercise program. She quit after several months and continued the program on her own.

“When you hit a certain age, you have to know how to exercise if you’re going to do it properly,” she explained. “I don’t have a weight problem, but exercise makes me feel good. Looking good is all a mental state. If you’re exercising, then you feel good and you look good. It’s a winning package.”

Times staff writer Jodi Wilgoren contributed to this report.