Overweight doctors less likely to help patients lose weight

Doctors who are overweight or obese are far less likely to encourage patients to lose weight than those who are a normal weight, a new study found.

While 30 per cent of doctors with a healthy BMI (body mass index) are likely to speak to their obese patients about weight loss, only 18 per cent of the overweight doctors would, according to the research, published in the journal Obesity.

Doctors are also more likely to diagnose patients as obese if they think their BMI is the same as or more than their own. This is a situation that GP Lady Arabella Onslow, who, at her heaviest weighed 22st, identifies with. When patients came to her for advice about weight loss she says they both found it difficult to ignore the fact that she was obese.

“I can see in hindsight that my idea of what constituted normal weight was massively skewed,” the 41-year-old told the Daily Mail. “For example, when I weighed 22st, if I saw a patient who weighed 18st I found myself thinking they weren’t that overweight – while, of course, they were.

“Luckily, however, my professionalism and training took over and I gave them the correct advice according to weight guidelines.”

Patients who are overweight may want to consider liposuction or body contouring treatments to help them regain confidence and health.

Bodytite rids mother-of-four of 'saggy tummy'

The postnatal bulge is an unpleasant side effect of motherhood that many women worry about, and it can be impossible to shift, even with a strict diet and exercise programme.

But Judy Semple, a mother-of-four from Glasgow, managed to regain her firm, flat stomach after she became the first woman in Scotland to undergo Bodytite. The procedure uses radio frequencies to heat beneath the skin to just above body temperature to melt away excess body fat. It also shrinks collagen fibres so the skin tightens naturally.

Less invasive than a conventional tummy-tuck which usually requires general anaesthetic and several days recovery in hospital, Bodytite is carried out under local anaesthetic with minimal scarring. Ms Semple was able to leave hospital within a couple of hours, was power walking the next day and running a week later.

The 39-year-old anaesthetist works as part of a cosmetic surgery team and became the first patient in Scotland to try the procedure after the Bodytite device arrived at Carrick Glen Hospital in Ayr.

“I didn’t want unattractive loose belly flab that didn’t fit into my jeans, but I accepted it was part of having kids,” she explained. “When you’re younger, your skin is different and things snap back. But being a bit older, drinking too much wine and carrying too much weight, I thought my shape had changed for good.”

She added: “I’m not about to start wearing mid-riff tops but it’s great not having a saggy tummy that you have to roll into your jeans."

We offer a free VISIA Skin Analysis service to all our patients and this was extremely popular to the brides on the day.

The atmosphere on the day was lovely, we gave away goodie bags at the stand and have been very busy booking brides, bridesmaids, grooms, and their parents in for treatments since.

We will be at another two wedding fayres on Sunday 26th February at Eastwood Hall and Kelham Hall, where our staff members will be available to offer advice on booking appointments for treatments.

We are looking forward to meeting lots of lucky couples again then, we also have an exclusive gift for the brides we meet at our fayres.

Alizonneis a medically formulated and doctor led therapy with a high rate of success in producing rapid and sustained life changing weight loss - you too can lose five stone in 10 weeks.

The difference with Alizonne is that the system is carefully managed and unlike most other weight loss programmes you are highly unlikely to regain your weight. Alizonne provides perfect nutritional balance as well as weekly additional fat reduction & skin tightening treatments where the vast majority of patients get no loose skin. There is no muscle loss and most people feel very well from day one.

The unique four step programme offer a revolutionary solution to the problem of excessive weight and poor body shape. Alizonne therapy allows you to reliably, predictably and quickly achieve your ideal weight and to stabilise it at that new level, and at the same time, without any surgery, re-shapes and contours your body, smoothing the subcutaneous tissue and firms and tightens your skin.

Find out more about Alizonne from patients at Zenith’s open evening on 2ndFebruary. For your place call Zenith Cosmetic Clinics on 0115 9596 999 or email info@zenithcosmeticclinics.co.uk

Cinderella lips are a great way to try a look before you commit.

What Are Cinderella Lips?

Women warned not to go overseas for gastric surgery

Leading surgeons have warned British women not to go abroad for cheap weight-loss surgery due to the risk of complications.

Faced with long NHS waiting lists, thousands of British women are now choosing to have their operations at private clinics overseas because of the bargain prices they offer. The Independent on Sunday reported that in countries such as Syria, gastric bands are fitted for as little as £2,000, compared to around £6,500 in the UK.

Last year a report warned doctors to watch out for complications that may develop years after the surgery. Ahmed R Ahmed, a weight loss surgeon at the private Cromwell Hospital in London, believes that as many as 10 per cent of women who have surgery overseas are returning with serious complications.

"It appears that some patients who pay privately abroad are not getting high-quality surgery and certainly they're not getting any follow-up," he said. "The key thing is the follow-up. If you don't have that, patients can get malnourished and deficient in vitamins. There is also a strong chance their weight might not go down as much as it should."

According to Catherine Foss, executive director of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, travel agencies are brokering surgery for their clients with surgeons they have never met. "The patients have no assurance that their surgeon is properly trained or qualified to perform the procedure they will undergo," she said.

A nose job can make you look younger, study finds

Getting a nose job could have the added benefit of making you appear younger, a new study found.

Researchers at the University of Toronto in Canada collected “before” and “after” pictures of 53 patients aged 15 to 61 who had undergone rhinoplasty operations. They showed them to a group of 50 volunteers, who were then asked to guess their ages.

Half of the group viewed the pre-operative pictures first and were shown the “after” ones a month later. The rest of the volunteers were asked to examine the pictures in reverse order. The patients were judged to look on average 1.5 years younger after their nose jobs.

The researchers also found that rhinoplasties were particularly effective at “rejuvenating” the face if they adjusted the nose in two ways: reduction of the “dorsal hump” at the top of the nose and increase of the nasolabial angle, which measures how much the tip of the nose is turned.

The findings, published in the January/February issue of the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, concluded: “This is the first study to demonstrate a statistically significant decrease in apparent age after rhinoplasty. This decrease in apparent age is an extra positive benefit of rhinoplasty, in addition to an increase in the harmony of facial features and the improvement of overall facial aesthetics.”

Daily deals help to offset cosmetic surgery costs

Almost one in four American adults would consider cosmetic surgery if costs were lower, but around a tenth of younger women are offsetting the bill for procedures with online daily deals, according to a new survey by couponcabin.com.

The company offers vouchers and promotional codes online for thousands of products and services in the US. Its research showed 9 per cent of women aged 18 to 44 are already using such discounts to help pay for cheaper cosmetic fixes like chemical peels, Botox and dermal fillers.

Meanwhile, 22 per cent of those who have not yet used daily deals to pay for a cosmetic procedure said they would consider it, with 31 per cent of women aged 18 to 44 saying this, compared to 23 per cent of men in the same age bracket.

Of those who had used a daily deal for a cosmetic procedure, 48 per cent said they had saved less than $100, 10 per cent clawed back $500 to $1,499, while 13 per cent got $1,500 knocked off their bill.

Couponcabin.com president Jackie Warrick said, "The popularity of coupon and daily deal use has spread from products and basic services to a variety of medical procedures. Many people are taking advantage of the discounts offered by coupons and daily deals to enhance their appearances and maintain their overall health."

Festive season lets nip-tuck patients 'hide out and heal'

The festive season might seem like the worst time year to have a face lift or a tummy tuck, but cosmetic surgeons and dermatologists say that December is their busiest time of year.

Some are performing three times as many procedures over the Christmas period than they would normally do to keep up with demand for the “New Year nip-tuck”.

Industry insiders say increased demand for cosmetic surgery in December is due to the holiday period, which gives patients a chance to recover and for any scars or redness to fade.

Debra Jaliman, a New York dermatologist, says she was carrying out 15 skin-smoothing Fraxel laser procedures a week. She usually treats just five patients each week at any other time of the year. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, she said, “People like to hide out while they heal.”

Plastic surgeon Dr Franklin Rose, who is based in Houston, Texas, also saw a spike in the number of patients wanting face lifts in December. He told the newspaper that he performed up to 20 facelifts a week, twice as many as he usually does.

Bariatric surgeon Dr Michael H Wood, of the Detroit Medical Center's Harper University Hospital, carried out 10% more gastric band and bypass procedures than normal. He added, "Patients do want to fly under the radar and they can do that during the holidays."

Bridalplasty shows how far brides will go for perfect look

One of the latest body shaping crazes in the US is for women to have liposuction and other body contouring treatments carried out before their wedding day.

The TV show Bridalplasty follows several brides each week who feel they need a bit of ‘intervention’ to help them feel confident on their big day. Many of them will have lost a fair bit of weight and now have lumps, bumps and excess skin that they would like to tighten up or remove altogether.

Perhaps one of the most extreme cases covered on the show was that of Linsey Ray who spent $20,000 on transforming her figure after her boyfriend proposed. She had skin removed, as well as body contouring procedures such as a tummy tuck and breast lift.

Speaking to Good Morning America, she explained, “I know it sounds crazy but… it is the worst thing in the world to literally wear three tank tops to hold all your suction in, everything and so it's worth it for me.”

She added, "I'm happy with the results. I know I'll look great in my dress. I'm excited to try on dresses."