After studying qualitative statistics from a handful of sources, Utah Valley University professor Dr. Susan Madsen discovered two things that surprised her.
“It helped uncover some interesting trends here in the state of Utah,” Dr. Madsen said. “One being the rise of [breast implant] gifts that are given actually by parents to their daughters for high school graduation.”
Back in 2007, Forbes named Salt Lake City the Vainest City in the country based on the ratio of plastic surgeons living in the area. The likely logic being that the high demand created the need for plastic surgeons.
Madsen points out two areas where cosmetic surgeries continue to soar in Utah a decade later.
“Young women who are 18, 19 and 20, getting themselves prepared, instead of sometimes going to college and using funding for college and preparing their minds, they were preparing their bodies,” Dr. Madsen said. “Often times saying they were waiting for a returned missionary in the LDS Church.”
Madsen says Google data shows that Utah women are more than 50 percent more likely to splurge for breast surgeries than the national average. However, she also points out that it’s not just high school graduate-aged kids getting the work done.
