Although weight concerns and body image issues are generally thought to be the preserve of women, men are also becoming increasingly image conscious.
In fact, body contouring procedures such as tummy tucks and liposuction are fast becoming the surgery of choice for men.
The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) recently reported a sixty-one per cent increase in male tummy tucks and almost a twenty per cent increase in liposuction for men.
Liposuction is now the third most popular procedure for men.
New techniques involving local anaesthetic, which result in minimal bruising and less "down time" (allowing early renewal of daily activities), have helped pave the way for the growing popularity of liposuction amongst men.
Men are opting for the newer Smart Lipo or Laser Lipo procedures over traditional liposuction.
Smart Lipo is a procedure where a laser, placed just under the skin, fires pulses to rupture the fat cells which then break up and drain away.
Smart Lipo is best used for small pockets of localized fat cells.
However, this technique cannot replace conventional liposuction where a large area of the body is to be treated.
The best results with Smart Lipo are when treating small areas of the face, neck and body.
Men should be in good health and not have any liver or kidney problems, diabetes or blood and skin disorders.
Not surprisingly, there are differences between liposuction for men and liposuction for women.
In the male body, the main difference is where the fat lies.
Men are more prone to fat deposits in the abdominal area ("beer belly"), chest (often known as "man boobs"), torso ("love handles") and back.
Women, on the other hand, tend to accumulate fat on the hips, thighs, upper arms ("bingo" wings) and the abdominal area.
Even the type of abdominal fat is different for men and women.
Visceral fat does not lie directly under the skin, but inside the abdominal cavity.
Liposuction may not be able to safely remove this type of fat, because of the risk of blood loss, nerve damage and punctured organs.
The typical male "beer belly" tends to be mostly visceral fat.
Fat directly beneath the skin is called intra-abdominal fat and is more common in women.
However, men can also suffer from intra-abdominal fat and liposuction scores a high success rate for men with this type of fat.
Liposuction is most often used on areas of a man's body where fat deposits are the most stubborn to trim down, no matter how much exercise they participate in or how strictly they diet.
Men typically want liposuction performed around the abdomen, including the "love handle" area.
Other popular areas for men are the chest and frontal abdominal region.
Some men suffer from fat deposits on their chest area, resulting in the hated "man boobs".
Fat deposits on the chest respond very well to liposuction.
However, there are cases where the breasts are actual glandular tissue (a condition known as "gynecomastia") and this cannot be treated with liposuction.
Medical advice should be sought and hormonal or other medication will be prescribed.
The patient should also be checked for male breast cancer which, although quite rare, cannot be ruled out.