Evaluation of Perception of the Turkish Male Population on Body Contouring
Although aesthetic procedures are known to have a higher impact on women, men are becoming more open to such procedures since the last decade. Of patients presenting to the hospital in order to have aesthetic operations, approximately 25-30% are male. This ratio was 20% four years ago, and 10-15% ten years ago. A questionnaire study was designed to determine the reason behind the increase in demand for male aesthetic procedures.
Methods/Technique:
A prospective questionnaire study was conducted between January 2011 – May 2012 to determine how male outpatients consider body contouring operations. Demographic information, previous aesthetic procedures, thoughts on body contouring applications with given reasons were questioned.
Results/Complications:
The average age of participants was 39 years. Thirty-one percent of respondents had undergone previous aesthetic surgery. When asked if they had information regarding body contouring surgery, 55% replied “yes”. The internet was the most commonly used tool for gathering information concerning body contouring. Fifty-three percent replied that they would consider undergoing body contouring surgery with the given reason that they believed they needed it. For those who didn’t consider contouring operations, 92.5% said that they did not need such a procedure. The results of a statistical analysis showed that there is no significant difference between the demographical status between those who consider body contouring surgery and those who don’t consider it. (p>0.05). Participants were catagorized into two groups according to body mass index. Participants with a BMI over 30 kg/m2 (Group 1) agreed to undergo body contouring surgery more than those who had a BMI less than 30 kg/m2 (Group 2). The results of the statistical analysis showed that there was a significant difference between the two groups. (p<0.05).
When asked which operation they would want to undergo primarily, 31% replied “abdominoplasty”. This was followed by liposuction at 20% , and gynecomastia operations. with 14%. When asked how they would prefer to contour their body, 51.9% replied they would first increase physical activity such as jogging, spinning, swimming while 11.8% replied that they would consider contoring operations as the first alternative. The difference between the preference of body contouring alternatives were also statistically significant (p<0.05).
Conclusion:
The results of the study show that mens’ consideration for aesthetic operations depend mainly on necessity and they mostly consider the abdominal zone. Word of mouth communication is the most commonly used source of information regarding woman but for men it is the internet. Body mass index is an independent predictor for considering body countouring operations. We can conclude that men are becoming more interested in aesthetic operations.