The ongoing question of whether or not reality TV shows affect people's decisions to get plastic surgery has been answered through a recent study.

Researchers from Yale conducted a study to examine how reality shows effect decision-making parents.

Study Results

In order to detect whether shows like “Extreme Makeover” and “Dr.90210” affect patient behavior in terms of cosmetic surgery, the researchers polled 42 first-time patients.

Each of the patients came to Yale's plastic surgery clinic and were questioned about how often they watched one or more reality shows in recent years.

John Persing, the lead director of the study, and his colleagues found that 57 percent of his patients watched one or more of the shows regularly.

About 12 percent claimed they had never seen one.

The average age of the patients was 36-years-old.

Reality Shows Prove to be Influential

The patients who were frequent viewers claimed that the TV shows were a significant factor in their decision to consult a surgeon about cosmetic surgery.

They also said that the shows made them more knowledgeable about procedures.

Ethnic Differences Surface

Another finding that emerged from the study was the ethnic and racial differences amongst those getting surgery.

Persing and the others found that about 75 percent of Hispanics said they were frequent reality TV watchers.

70 percent of African-Americans claimed that they watched the shows, while only 36 percent of whites admitted to watching.

The majority of those questioned were females.

(Source: Chicago Tribune)

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