VANCOUVER, Canada (AFP) — Magazine stories about breast implants, nose
jobs and liposuction too often downplay the psychological risks, including
suicide, of invasive cosmetic surgery, reports a Canadian study.
Surgery is portrayed as part of a "normal" beauty regime in best-selling North
American women's magazines, in stories alongside clothing and diet advice,
researcher Andrea Polonijo told AFP.
While the physical risks of surgery were sometimes reported, emotional risks
were mentioned in only 18 percent of stories, said Polonijo.
Her research at the University of British Columbia, and co-authored by her
sociology professor Richard Carpiano, was published in the December issue of
Women's Health Issues journal.
Research is ongoing into "whether cosmetic surgery has positive or negative
effects on emotional well-being," said Polonijo, and consensus is lacking about
whether surgery causes psychological distress, or "women undergoing cosmetic
surgery might be predisposed to that already."
But Polonijo said some studies suggest "anxiety and depression can be emphasized
and general body dissatisfaction can actually increase after cosmetic surgery."
"Some studies linked (having) breast implants with increased risk of
psychological problems and suicide," she said.
The researchers examined 35 articles about invasive cosmetic surgery -- not
including surgical procedures such as Botox injections -- published over a
five-year period in Canadian and US magazines Chatelaine, Cosmopolitan, O: The
Oprah Magazine, Flare and Prevention.
"These magazines are promising an emotional health boost and that's not
necessarily going to be the outcome," said Polonijo. "They might want to
consider presenting a more balanced view."
People undergo surgery to increase self-esteem or attract a partner, she warned,
and "when these expectations don't live up to the reality it can take its toll
on emotional health."
In the United States, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
reported an increase of eight percent in cosmetic surgeries in 2007, to nearly
1.5 procedures. Liposuction was the most popular.
The numbers of cosmetic surgery procedures in Canada are not tracked.
