Cosmetic Surgery in Utah

Does Utah have one of the highest rates of cosmetic surgery in the country?

Possibly. It's hard to say because statistics for plastic surgery procedures are only collected by region, not by state.[1] However, there are two available statistical data sources for plastic surgery procedures in Utah, but they are from relatively small samples.[2] They both indicate that Latter-day Saint women in Utah have less cosmetic surgery than the national average.[3]

Why are there so many articles published that say that Utah has one of the highest rates in the country?

Probably because in 2007 Forbes wrote an article titled "America's Vainest Cities"[4] where it ranked Salt Lake City as #1. This placement was not based on the number of cosmetic surgeries, but instead, the number of plastic surgeons per capita.[5] The University of Utah School of Medicine (in Salt Lake City) has a residency program for plastic and reconstructive surgery,[6] and Forbes acknowledged that this may be a factor that skews the data.[7]

Since Forbes published this article, there have been many articles on this subject,[8] and many of them reference the 2007 Forbes article.[9]

So does Salt Lake City have the highest number of plastic surgeons in the country?

No. The most recent data available, from 2018, shows that Salt Lake City has the fifth-highest number of plastic surgeons per capita in the country.[10]

But that's still high. Couldn't it be because there is a high demand for cosmetic surgery in Utah?

Possibly. But there are many potential reasons for a high number of plastic surgeons in Utah. The Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City performs over 3,000 surgeries per year.[11] The University of Utah has residency programs for both plastic and reconstructive surgery.[12] Or maybe people in Utah are more interested in cosmetic surgery than in other states.[13] There is no data available that points to one explanation.

Is "breast augmentation" a popular search term for Utah?

Yes. As of May 2021, Google Trends indicates that Utah is #1 for the search topic "breast augmentation," as well as #1 in the search term "boob job" over the last 5 years.[14] However, it also indicates that for the "breast enlargement" search category, Utah is #37 over the last five years.[15]

There are lots of ways to look at the data on Google Trends (time span, geographic span, terms versus categories, etc.), depending on what kind of narrative someone is supporting. But overall, it seems there is a disproportionate amount of interest in cosmetic surgery related to breasts in Utah.

What does the Church teach about cosmetic surgery?

The Church does not have any official policies related to cosmetic surgery,[16] but two modern apostles have cautioned against it, in the context of condemning vanity.[17]

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29 Primary Sources

Footnotes

[1]↩︎
For example, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, in 2019, the Mountain/Pacific region, which Utah is a part of "had 5,286,117 cosmetic procedures—29% of cosmetic procedures nationwide. The most common procedure in this region is Botulinum Toxin Type A, with 2,193,994 procedures."
There is no breakdown by state.
- JN notes the difficulty of determining the number of cosmetic surgeries in Utah.
- ASPS data shows the Mountain/Pacific Region had 5,286,117 cosmetic procedures.
[2]↩︎
The first source is from a pilot study conducted in 2013 of 100 active Latter-day Saint women, 91% of which lived in Utah and 66% of them had grown up in Utah.
The second source was sampled from a national group of 1,155 people who identify themselves as active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The results for Utah were taken from Utahns within this group.
- Jana Riess writes that LDS women are lower than the national average for cosmetic surgery.
- N pilot survey indicates 4% Utah County LDS women have had cosmetic surgery.
[3]↩︎
The small sample pilot study of Latter-day Saint women (91% of which were Utah residence) conducted by Joylin Namie in 2013 indicated that only 4% had cosmetic surgery.
And the 2016 study by Jana Reiss was referenced in her article "Mormon women have more cosmetic surgery . . . or not," indicating:
Among all Utah Mormons, 3.7% have had plastic surgery, slightly less than the 4% national average for all Americans. For Utah women, it’s 5.6%. That’s also a little less than the national average for women, which is 7%.
- Jana Riess writes that LDS women are lower than the national average for cosmetic surgery.
[4]↩︎
It was also published as a picture list.
- Forbes article names Salt Lake City as #1 out of "America's vainest cities."
- Forbes article that names Salt Lake City as #1 out of America's vainest cities.
[5]↩︎
This method makes Salt Lake City stand out due to the smaller city population and the number of plastic surgeons:
There are at least 45 plastic surgeons practicing in Salt Lake City, or six per 100,000 people.
- Forbes article names Salt Lake City as #1 out of "America's vainest cities."
- Forbes article that names Salt Lake City as #1 out of America's vainest cities.
[6]↩︎
An article from the Utah Women & Research Project called the University of Utah plastic surgery residency program "top-ranked."
[7]↩︎
According to the Forbes article:
Unexpected entries like Salt Lake City, Nashville and Louisville might rise to the top, given smaller populations and medical or university programs and centers that focus on plastic surgery.
[8]↩︎
The earliest articles focus on how shocking it is that a state that is so heavily religious could have such a high number of surgeons. Some go on to speculate about perfectionism in the Church being responsible for it. Others recognize the lack of data linking Latter-day Saints and an increase in plastic surgery.
[9]↩︎
Some use it as evidence for Mormon vanity, while some cite it to push back against that idea.
[10]↩︎
Utah had the eighth-most plastic surgeons per capita in 2011, sixth-highest in 2017, and fifth-highest in 2018.
- KSL reported Utah was eighth-highest number of plastic surgeons per capita in the nation.
- RS ranks Utah as the 5th strongest market for plastic surgery in the country.
[11]↩︎
In their 2021 "By the Numbers" report, the Huntsman Cancer Institute reports that they perform 13 surgeries on a typical day, which implies several thousand surgeries per year.
- HCI reports 13 surgeries per typical day.
[12]↩︎
The residency program at the University of Utah Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery includes training in plastic surgery, general surgery, ENT, orthopedics, ophthalmology, dermatology, and burn surgery.
- Entry for "Plastic Surgery" on the University of Utah's School of Medicine Division of Plastic Surgery Website.
[13]↩︎
Google search trends indicate that Utahans search for "breast augmentation" and "boob job" more than any other state in the U.S. While this data indicates a strong interest in cosmetic surgery, it is not definitive data on the prevalence of procedures in Utah.
- Google Trends research showing Utah tied for top region of interest for "breast augmentation."
- Google trends data showing Utah is the top region of interest in the topic of "boob job."
[14]↩︎
Utah was tied with Nevada for the search result "breast augmentation" and was closely followed by Montana for the search result "boob job." This data was retrieved in May of 2021. Note that Google Trends is a moving average and the data changes with over time.
- Google Trends research showing Utah tied for top region of interest for "breast augmentation."
- Google trends data showing Utah is the top region of interest in the topic of "boob job."
[15]↩︎
The state most interested in the search term "breast enlargement" was West Virginia. This data was retrieved in May of 2021. Note that Google Trends is a moving average and the data changes with over time.
- Google Trends shows that Utah is the 37th most interested region in "Breast Enlargement."
[16]↩︎
The New Era explained:
The Church has no official position on cosmetic plastic surgery in general, but Church leaders have taught principles that can guide us in such matters.
- NE reports that the Church has no official position on cosmetic plastic surgery.
[17]↩︎
For example, Jeffrey R. Holland warned:
And if adults are preoccupied with appearance—tucking and nipping and implanting and remodeling everything that can be remodeled—those pressures and anxieties will certainly seep through to children.
And Neil L. Anderson condemned the idea that "our lives are all about ourselves" by referencing a quote about plastic surgery from a book entitled The Narcissism Epidemic.
- J.H. warns Latter-day Saints against being preoccupied with appearance, specifically "tucking and nipping and implanting and remodeling."
- NLA references plastic surgery in a talk discouraging self-centeredness.
[18]↩︎
The Forbes article included a note calling out that these purchases were only in grocery stores and "not in department or chain stores like Sephora."
- Forbes article that names Salt Lake City as #1 out of America's vainest cities.