A recent survey undertaken by Sculpsure UK found that 73% of respondents did not understand what happens to fat cells when fat is lost, indicating that public understanding of fat loss is low.

Sculpsure UK asked 855 people the question “When you lose weight, what happens to the fat cells in your body?”. Only 27% of respondents correctly identified that fat cells get smaller but are not destroyed; 73% responded with the wrong answer.

  • 32% of people thought that fat cells are “burned off” and destroyed
  • 16% thought fat cells leave the body in urine or faeces
  • 14% thought the cells were turned into muscle cells
  • 11% thought fat cells leave the body through sweat and breath

With so many people concerned about their own weight or actively taking steps to lose weight, the survey was taken with the aim of going back to basics, to establish what the level of understanding the general public has about the fundamentals of fat loss.

The results indicate that there is a need for practitioners to educate their patients on the actual process of weight loss, and could suggest that further misunderstanding around weight and fat exists, leading to unrealistic expectations.

Kelly Harding, Senior Clinical Trainer at Sculpsure UK commented,

“Weight loss is such an important issue to so many people, and yet our survey indicated that most people don’t understand the most basic fundamentals of fat loss.

If the public do not understand the absolute basics about fat cells, it could indicate wider ignorance about weight, the uniqueness of each body and what a person can realistically expect from their body.”

It is up to practitioners to play a part in helping to educate patients. Setting realistic expectations and helping each patient understand what they can expect from their own body is important.”

X further commented that aesthetic practitioners must help to combat the sense that treatments can offer drastic, “miracle cures”.

“Cosmetic weight loss treatments have been proven effective and can significantly enhance a patient’s life by making real change to their bodies. However, as all practitioners know, they should not be considered miracle cures.

Practitioners need to help patients understand what they can expect from their body, what they can expect from a treatment and what they need to do to sustain the weight they desire.”

Sculpsure UK advise practitioners to be transparent with patients, explaining from the outset that a healthy lifestyle goes hand-in-hand with maintaining a desirable weight and making results last after a cosmetic treatment.