Thursday, Feb. 16, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Many women might choose to have a breast reduction if they suffer from problems like constant neck, back, and shoulder pain. But a new study shows there could be a connection between these surgeries in teens and young adult women and weight gain later on.
William Doyle Jr., the lead author of the study and a medical student at the University of South Florida in Tampa, said, “These patients should be the focus for healthy lifestyle changes to stop them from gaining weight.”
He and his fellow researchers published their findings in the February issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
According to the researchers’ background information, being overweight can increase the risk of complications after breast – reduction surgeries (mammaplasty), especially in teens. That’s why overweight patients are told to lose weight before these operations.
But what about gaining weight after thesurgeries
To find out more, Doyle’s team followed the results for 56 patients who were under 22 years old (average age: 18.6 years) and had breast reduction surgeries between 2015 and 2019.
Before their surgeries, about 29% of the patients were at a healthy weight. The others had BMIs in the overweight or obese range. BMI, which stands for body mass index, measures body fat based on height and weight.
The researchers kept track of the patients’ weight changes for an average of almost two years after the surgery.
They found that 39.3% of the patients had a decrease in their BMI during that time. For most patients, their body weight and BMI went down a little in the first year after the procedure, but then they increased steadily in the year or more after that.
The research team noted that this was especially true for women who were at a healthy weight before their mammaplasty.
On the other hand, the rate of weight gain after the operation was lower among women who were already overweight when they had the breast reduction surgery. And women who were obese at the time of their surgery didn’t gain any weight after the procedure.
Doyle and his team said they’re not sure why these trends happen.
Hormonal changes after puberty could be a factor.
“Another idea is that healthy lifestyle habits, like exercise and a balanced diet, aren’t formed after the operation,” the researchers wrote. They also said more studies on patient behaviors and their attitudes towards lifestyle changes would be needed to look into these factors.
The research team concluded that no matter what the reasons are, it might be a good idea to suggest weight – management strategies, like nutrition education or fitness coaching, for young women who choose to have breast – reduction procedures.
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