The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) released the detailed figures on cosmetic surgery in 2014, and Euronews outlined seven surprising trends from the US. Among them:
Men and boys having their ‘breasts’ reduced
The number of male teenagers in the US going under the knife for breast reduction in 2014 rose to 6,694, up 14 percent compared with the previous year.
The proportion of obese US teenagers (aged 12-19) has ballooned from 5 percent in 1980 to 21 percent in 2012, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There was an identical trend with adult males: 26,175 underwent surgery to have their ‘breasts’ reduced in 2014, up 14 percent compared with 2013.
Teenagers going under the knife
The number of US teenagers putting themselves forward for cosmetic procedures is on the rise – 224,000 13-19 year olds had work done on them in 2014, a jump of 2 percent on the previous year.
The most popular jobs were nose reshaping, male breast reduction (see above), ear surgery, laser hair removal and laser skin resurfacing.
ASPS says parental consent is required for operations on teenagers under 18.
Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Center for Health Research, said: “There is no question that reconstructive surgeries can benefit children and youth. Surgical procedures to correct cleft lips and palates, for example, are not controversial. Plastic surgery to correct unattractive facial features that can attract ridicule, such as prominent noses and ears, are generally accepted in the United States.
“However, cultural phenomena such as surgical makeovers on numerous television programs and unrelenting pressures on teens to conform to beauty standards make it increasingly difficult to agree on what constitutes a “normal” appearance and when the desire to improve one’s appearance is questionable or even crosses the line to psychopathology.” […]