Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist
Suctioning off fat cells does not improve insulin sensitivity or lead to any of the other health benefits of weight loss.
Liposuction is often seen as a quick fix for obesity. It involves removal of fat cells and, typically, about five liters of fat can be removed.
Weight loss by traditional methods - calorie reduction and exercise increase - is linked to health benefits in terms of improved insulin sensitivity and better blood pressure control. Doctors at Washington University School of Medicine now reveal how liposuction does not produce any of these benefits.
They assessed a group of 15 obese women - seven of whom had type 2 diabetes - before and after a liposuction procedure and found no significant change in their risk factors. This may be because liposuction does not remove fat from key tissues where it is a health risk. The study sheds new light on how traditional dieting improves health. It also shows that liposuction is safe - and that up to 20 liters of fat could be removed in this way.
Source
New England Journal of Medicine 17th June 2004