A young woman in China has been rendered permanently infertile after having liposuction on her stomach because she thought she was too fat. The 25-year-old called Mei, who weighed 50 kilos and was 1.65 metres tall, underwent the procedure at Shulan Hangzhou Hospital in Zhejiang province, eastern China, the Hangzhou City Express reported on August 14.
Zhong Chao, a doctor from the reproductive medicine department at the hospital, said Mei told her she had tried other ways to lose the fat on her stomach but failed. Zhong said she opted for liposuction, because she felt she was “too much of a perfectionist to allow a little fat on her belly”. Her menstruation stopped following the surgery and Zhong discovered that Mei’s ovaries had atrophied and she had lost her fertility permanently.
Zhong said even though obesity was often related to infertility, low body weight in women could be the cause as well. A sharp decrease in body fat leads to a decrease in level of oestrogen, the female sex hormone, and causes ovarian dysfunction, she said. Chen Shihong, a doctor at Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, said a “little belly” is normal for women, as the fat protects the uterus and ovaries.
Chen criticised internet challenges such as ant waist, chopsticks legs, palm face – which promote a skinny body as beautiful regardless of the individual, and create appearance anxiety. “It is more important to stay healthy than skinny,” said one person on Weibo. “Exercise is your b.