A Brazilian study has caused a stir this week in the media, as researchers have announced that women who undergo liposuction may be losing one kind of fat only to gain another -- but exercise can help turn this around.
The study finds that the sudden removal of what is called subcutaneous fat, located directly under the skin and the primary target in liposuction procedures, seems to trigger a buildup of fat around the internal organs, known as visceral fat, which is linked to diabetes and heart disease.
Yet, it's not all bad news: the same research team found that liposuction patients who adopted an exercise program shortly after surgery prevented the post-surgical growth of visceral fat.
"Importantly, a four-month, supervised exercise program prevented this compensatory visceral fat increase, increased fat-free mass and improved physical capacity and insulin sensitivity," the team, led by Fabiana Benatti from the University of Sao Paulo, stated.
Benatti and her colleagues detail the findings in a recent issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Another recent study from the University of Colorado found that when non-obese women underwent liposuction to remove fat from their thighs or lower abdomen, the fat came back after about a year -- but redistributed to other parts of the body, such as the upper arms.
