Ever since she became first lady, Michelle Obama has been a beacon of fashion and style for many women, with her dresses and gowns becoming must-have items. Her bangs are such a success, at the White House Correspondents' Dinner Barack Obama jokingly said that he was going to adopt the look himself to boost his approval ratings.
And now you can count the first lady's arms as another trait of hers that other women want.
According to the Los Angeles Times, a recent study by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons showed a significant increase in brachioplasty, also known as upper-arm-lift surgery.
In 2012, 15,457 patients, 98% of them women, spent a total of $61 million to have liposuction on their arms, or what's known as a brachioplasty (a surgery that involves making an incision from the armpit to the elbow, usually along the back of the arm, to remove excess skin). The number of procedures was up 4,378% since 2000, when only about 300 women opted for it, the group reported.
In a statement, the ASPS said that doctors didn't point to a single reason for the increase, but took note of poll data indicating that women "are paying closer attention to the arms of female celebrities" including Jennifer Aniston, Demi Moore and Kelly Ripa. The most-admired arms of all? Those of First Lady Michelle Obama.
Read more at the Los Angeles Times.
Jozen Cummings is the author and creator of the popular relationship blog Until I Get Married, which is currently in development for a television series with Warner Bros. He also hosts a weekly podcast with WNYC about Empire called Empire Afterparty, is a contributor at VerySmartBrothas.com and works at Twitter as an editorial curator. Follow him on Twitter.