For Those Seeking the Skinny on Fat Suction

I love a glossy magazine and love to read over breakfast, so this morning I picked up a mag with a gorgeous-looking woman on the cover and riffled its pages while munching away on a scrambled egg and biscuit.

Mmpfff.

I may not have finished my breakfast, but I do now know that the number of men having liposuction more than tripled between 1992 and 1998. And that among teens, plastic surgery rose 85% during that period, with the most common procedures being nose jobs (8,074), male breast reduction (1,862), breast augmentation (1,840), pinning back of the ears (1,783) and liposuction (1,645). (I think I would rather have finished my breakfast.)

Cosmetic Surgery magazine--launched Friday in the U.S.--is filled with full-color, before and after photos of liposuctioned derrieres, augmented and perkier breasts, as well as ads aplenty for Southern California’s plastic surgeons. It’s written for consumers, to serve as “an authoritative information source on new cutting-edge techniques,” says editor in chief Michelle Kearney.

Featured this issue: “Breasts, Augmentation and Reduction” and “Liposuction, Remove Fatty Bulges.” We turned to the bulge article, and learned that there’s some debate over whether one should vacuum fat with as high a suction as one safely can or--as some surgeons prefer--lower the suction strength a tad. Then we read “Diary of a Liposuction Patient” and a surgeon’s reminiscences about those old lipo days when he could remove only 1 1/2 liters of fat from a body at a time. With today’s technology, he can remove 5 liters per vacuuming.

I might skip lunch as well.

A Few Workout Tips for Those Tubby Tabbies

No, Jack, no! Don’t do it!

I’m referring to my hefty white cat, who spent a few hours sitting on Cosmetic Surgery magazine last night. It was open at the liposuction page, and (surely it wasn’t my imagination) he was staring at the article intently.

Jack insists that he has a naturally large build. Even as a stray, he was a little husky (though that particular word might not be favored by a cat). In any case, being overweight, he’s twice as likely to die in middle age, four times more likely to develop diabetes and seven times more likely to suffer lameness, according to a Cornell University study.

In addition to switching Jack to a “senior” cat food, we are trying an exercise regime recommended by pet food purveyors the Iams Co. of Dayton, Ohio. Normally, Jack moves only from bowl to couch and back--though one time, inspired by his sidekick the tabby kitten, he lumbered across the patio, jumped 6 inches up a tree, then spent the rest of the day recovering.

Some of Iams’ recommendations: Take your cat for a walk. Toss toys for your cat to chase. So I purchased a zany-patterned cat leash--you’re only as old as you feel, after all--and got to work.

It was a great workout. For me. Jack had no interest in fetch, so I ran across the room dozens of times to pick up crumpled pieces of paper I’d tossed. I clipped on the leash. Jack sat down. He stayed sitting as I tugged on the leash and his furry body slid across the slick hardwood floor. By the end of our “walk,” my biceps and triceps were burning. Is this how it’s supposed to work?

Halloween Additives Might Not Be So Scary

Finally, what with Halloween just around the corner, we thought you’d be interested in knowing why all those chemicals with weird names end up inside trick-or-treat candy. You know, yummy-sounding things like butylated hydroxyanisole and glycerol monostearate. Here’s how the Institute of Food Technologists explains some of the additives, which it says are safe and included for good reason.

* Butylated hydroxyanisole: An antioxidant that stops fats and oils from going rancid in candies like peanut butter cups.

* Gum arabica or acacia: a chemical from a tree whose purpose (in the tree) is to seal up damage in the bark. In candies, it helps coatings stay smooth and uniform.

* Lecithin: a chemical, mostly from soybeans, that makes chocolate smoother in texture and means manufacturers don’t have to add as much cocoa butter.

* Malic acid: adds a tart flavor to candies.

* Glycerol monostearate: an emulsifier, used to blend ingredients and give a smooth texture.