Have you ever felt uncomfortable with how you look? The numbers say you're not alone.
Recent research suggests that while Utah ranks No. 1 in fiscal responsibility, economic outlook and volunteer work, it falls short in the body image department.
The research, published by the Utah Women & Leadership Project, shows Utah has high rates of interest in cosmetic surgery, less satisfaction with body image and high rates of mental illness among adults.
Utah is also among the top ten states with the most board-certified plastic surgeons per capita and ranks second among all states for percentage of adults living with mental illness.
Though Utah has issues with body image, the problem is not exclusive to the Beehive State; the United States overall has seen increases in invasive and minimally invasive cosmetic procedures.
From 2019 to 2022, cosmetic surgery procedures in America grew by nearly 20%, and less invasive procedures increased by more than 70%, according to the research findings.
While women are often the target demographic for cosmetic procedures, men have seen dramatic spikes in rates of cosmetic procedures as well.
Also from 2019 to 2022, 253% more American men participated in minimally invasive cosmetic surgical procedures, including Botox and dermal fillers.
Interest in cosmetic procedures, minimally invasive or otherwise, has also increased across the board for men in the United States.
The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery conducted an 18-year analysis on surgical trends among men, gathering data from 2004 to 2021.
The analysis found that interest in all cosmetic surgeries increased among men, except for chest tissue reduction.
The procedures that drew the most interest included, in no particular order, jawline fillers, Botox and butt lifts. Microneedling, lip fillers and CoolSculpting also attracted interest, although CoolSculpting is not technically a surgical procedure.
The increased interest in these procedures reflects a deeper issue that might not show up on a bar graph or among data points.
Billboards, TV shows and social media all show "perfect" versions of male and female bodies, showing off an ideal physical standard that can be overwhelming.
Though it may seem cliché to criticize the ideal body portrayed on social media, online body expectations play an important role in body image. Youth can be especially susceptible to these messages.
Another analysis from the Utah Women and Leadership Project showed that 96% of teenage girls reported experiencing cyberbullying about their appearance, with 92% of those considering changing their looks through dieting, exercise or cosmetic procedures.
Along with the general anxiety about body image that young people face, social media has also seen a rise in "looksmaxxing" — a trend that puts physical beauty on the highest pedestal.
What is looksmaxxing?
The goal of looksmaxxing is to maximize physical appearance. The trend is deeply rooted in the "incel" circles of the internet, which are made up of individuals who identify as "involuntary celibates."
Looksmaxxing isn’t new; it emerged in online forums before spreading to platforms such as Instagram, and is mostly practiced by young men — though some female looksmaxxers do exist.
Because looksmaxxing is an esoteric movement rooted in comment sections and anonymous forums, those who identify as part of the community all have slightly different physical goals.
Certain ones, however, are almost universally sought after: More muscle and less fat, better facial structure and bodily proportions, more height and thicker hair.
Some influencers — looksmaxxers or otherwise — have even invested in expensive surgeries to make them taller.
These goals all seek to achieve "ascension," or a looksmaxxer's idea of a perfected physical appearance achieved by any means necessary.
Influencers like Braden Peters, aka "Clavicular," act as the literal and metaphorical face of looksmaxxing, employing methods from drug use to surgery to achieve ascension.
Peters had a rhinoplasty for his nose, an otoplasty for his ears and even admitted to taking meth to get leaner. That meth use led to him suffering a non-fatal overdose in April.
Looksmaxxing even has its own language. Terms like ‘chad’ are used for high-value, aesthetically pleasing people, and 'chud’ for ugly, utterly lacking status, and therefore entirely without value.
The movement hinges on one important principle: physical beauty above all.
Looksmaxxing, while relatively popular, is only one of several ways that Utahns are looking to change their bodies. A quick drive through Utah Valley reveals advertisements for ‘mommy makeovers,’ blanket billboards featuring shirtless models, and signs showing flawless hairstyles.
The rise of minimally invasive procedures
“The primary difference between traditional plastic surgery and minimally invasive procedures lies in the scope of the procedures themselves and the recovery afterward,” according to the American Society of Plastic Surgery.
Invasive methods can involve cutting, anesthesia and more permanent, visible bodily changes. Examples include breast augmentation, liposuction and rhinoplasty.
Minimally invasive procedures include Botox, lip fillers and laser treatment.
The Society also notes that while recovery time is generally lower, minimally invasive procedures can require multiple sessions to achieve the desired result.
In Utah, there are many options for cosmetic surgical procedures, both invasive and minimally invasive. As of 2025, Utah is ranked in the top ten for the most board-certified plastic surgeons in the country, with 0.22 board-certified plastic surgeons per 10,000 adults.
Although this study focuses on board-certified plastic surgeons, in Utah cosmetic surgery can technically be performed by any licensed physician, even without the extra training a board certification requires for more invasive procedures.
In Utah, any entrepreneur can legally open a medical spa and if they hire a doctor to act as medical director, their spa can perform minimally invasive procedures.
Consequently, the exact number of minimally invasive procedures in Utah is difficult to pin down. It can still be reasonably concluded, however, that medical spas administering the procedures increase the total number of minimally invasive procedures.
These spas also often administer other non-surgical treatments and don't necessarily focus on surgical procedures alone.
Since minimally invasive procedures can be cheaper, faster and have a shorter recovery time, they constitute a staggering 91.5% of the cosmetic procedures in America performed by board-certified plastic surgeons alone.
Though minimally invasive procedures account for most of Utah's demand, cosmetic procedures requiring surgery are also popular.
Why are Utahns getting cosmetic surgeries?
Dr. Eric Ashby is one of Utah’s top-ranked board-certified plastic surgeons. He has practiced plastic surgery, including cosmetic procedures, for more than three decades and served as president of the Utah State Plastic Surgery Society.
“Most of the patients I see are looking to restore their body and their body image to a state that they were at previously, and sometimes there is a degree of enhancement in that,” he said.
He also said he sees some younger patients coming in for preventative cosmetic procedures "instead of waiting until they're older and have to fix things."
But Ashby said body image concerns sometimes go deeper than surgery can fix.
“There’s a fair number of patients that end up not having surgery, or not having surgery with me because the concerns that they have are not going to be addressed by plastic surgery,” he said. “In the end, what matters is their body image as a reflection of themselves.”
A BYU solution
The Body Project at BYU, a division of BYU Women’s Services and Resources, seeks to help women with body image.
The project is a national, evidence-based program and has been offered at BYU since 2021. It holds small-group sessions to help women face and overcome the cognitive dissonance of body dissatisfaction.
The sessions are offered throughout the year, including during spring and summer terms.
Jackie Nuñez is the assistant director of Women’s Services and Resources and helps to manage the Body Project.
“It creates change in four different ways: Reducing disordered eating symptoms, reducing body dissatisfaction, reducing unhealthy dieting and reducing the thin ideal, or the desire to be unhealthily thin,” she said.
For every 100 women who complete the workshop, she said an estimated nine fewer develop an eating disorder.
Nuñez trains students, who then run the small, peer-led groups.
Sarah Reyes is a specialist at Women’s Services and Resources, helping plan and carry out events. She has attended Body Project workshops as a participant and worked as a peer leader overseeing the sessions.
Reyes shared how she feels about body image pressures. Originally from the East Coast, she noticed a different beauty standard after moving to Utah.
“You still feel that pressure to conform to what the beauty standard here is,” she said. “That comes down to your hair, your nails, your shaped eyebrows, your skin color, your eye color, everything.”
To those who feel dissatisfied with their body image, Reyes recommended trying out a session at the Body Image Project
“If you're really looking to find that you're not alone in feeling like you're not enough, you can come to the Body Project,” she said. “You can be the change that you want to see. It starts small.”
BYU students interested in participating in the Body Project can find more information here.