Los Angeles — Recently released research results show that people thought to be “addicted” to plastic surgery may actually suffer from a medical condition called body dysmorphic disorder (BBD) and not low self-esteem, reports NBC News.
Researchers at UCLA say patients who suffer from the biological disorder use the left side of the brain — the analytical, detail-oriented side — to process their viewing of, for example, photos of themselves, whereas non-BBD subjects use the right side.
What this suggests is that BDD sufferers focus on details as opposed to “seeing the big picture” about themselves, which can lead to obsessive-compulsive behavior in BDD patients and, in turn, to their desire for multiple plastic surgeries, according to the NBC report.
According to the UCLA researchers, up to 15 percent of cosmetic-surgery patients and two percent of the world population suffer from BDD.
