What are love handles?
Also commonly referred to as muffin tops, love handles are an accumulation of fat around the waist and can affect men and women of all ages. They mostly develop due to fat accumulation extending from your stomach area around your waistline and flanks.
Love handles can be resistant to diet and exercise and can cause an unsightly bulge over the top of your skirt or trousers or evident in tight fitting tops or dresses.
What causes love handles to develop?
In women, love handles tend to occur due to hormonal factors as fat naturally accumulates in this area. While they can be caused by a poor diet, it isn’t just excess weight that leads to this common issue.
Stress can also be a cause; prolonged stress increases the cortisol levels in the body. High levels of this stress hormone can lead to elevated blood sugar, insulin resistance and affects how your body stores fat. Men can also develop love handles, and they tend to be harder to lose. This is because the fat cells in men are mostly found in the abdomen area.
Are love handles genetic?
Although genetics can play a role in your susceptibility to develop love handles, it isn’t the main cause. Most love handles are not genetic, instead they are linked to weight gain or hormonal changes.
If you follow a healthy diet and do plenty of exercise but love handles are still an issue, genetics could be partially to blame. Whatever the cause, there are ways to eliminate love handles or at least make them much less prominent.
ASSOCIATED PROCEDURES: Tummy Tuck, CoolSculpting, Liposuction
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TREATMENT OPTION: LIPOSUCTION
Lipo isn’t just for the body. Liposuction, or fat removal surgery, is also known as liposculpture or lipoplasty. Essentially liposuction is the targeted removal of fatty deposits with the use of cannulae and a vacuum. It can be performed on men and women and virtually anywhere on the body.
Common areas for liposuction include the abdomen, hips, flanks, inner and outer thighs, knees and it is also an effective treatment for bingo wings.
Discover our liposuction proceduresTREATMENT OPTION: TUMMY TUCK
Abdominoplasty, often referred to as a ‘tummy tuck’, is an operation to tighten the muscles of the abdominal wall and to remove excess skin folds and fatty tissues from the middle and lower abdominal region. A tummy tuck can dramatically reduce the appearance of a protruding abdomen and lead to a flatter, firmer stomach. Liposuction is often performed alongside this cosmetic procedure at our London clinic for optimum results.
TREATMENT OPTION: EXILIS ULTRA
Exilis Ultra 360 is an award-winning, FDA-approved treatment for tightening the skin and reducing stubborn fat deposits located on the arms, chest, stomach, thighs, calves, back and bra fat and bingo wings. It can also be used to eradicate love handles.
Exilis Ultra 360 can also noticeably improve the appearance of fine lines and sagging skin on the face and neck.
RF energy breaks up the fat cells which are then flushed out through the body’s lymphatic system, so fat is permanently removed. The RF energy also stimulates collagen fibres, so the skin is tightened and toned.
Discover our Exilis Ultra treatmentTREATMENT OPTION: MINI ABDOMINOPLASTY
A mini abdominoplasty targets your lower abdomen (lower stomach), whereas our standard tummy tuck surgery targets your whole stomach area. The mini tummy tuck removes your excess fatty tissue and loose skin and tightens lax muscles to leave a flatter stomach from your tummy button to your pubic area.
Discover our mini abdominoplasty proceduresTREATMENT OPTION: MICRO-LIPOSUCTION
Micro-liposuction (aka MicroLipo or micro-lipo) removes localised fat deposits very precisely using tiny cannulas — much smaller in size than traditional liposuction. These micro cannulas can be as small as 2mm in diameter.
Micro-liposuction is perfect for those awkward little areas of fat you just can’t seem to shift, such as the fat under your chin or on your face, cheeks, thighs or belly pooch.
Discover our micro-liposuction procedures
