Has First Lady Michelle Obama's Toned Arms Influenced a Trend in Plastic Surgery? Upper Arm Lifts on the Rise

With tank-top season just around the corner, it's no wonder that when it comes to plastic surgery, a popular trend seen among women is an upper arm lift.

This plastic surgery procedure saw the biggest uptick between 2000 and 2012, according to a recent report.

In 2012, more than 15,000 upper arm lifts were performed in the United States, up from 300 in 2000, according to the report from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

And though science can't quite yet pinpoint a reason for why some many more people want to, it may have something to do with people's increasing success in weight-loss efforts, according to plastic surgeon in Knoxville, Tenn., Dr. David Reath.

"When people are successful with weight loss, either through surgery or with diet and exercise, they can end up with excess skin on their arms," Reath said, according to Live Science .

For those that experience major weight loss, the first surgery they typically want is a tummy tuck to get rid of excess skin around the abdomen. "But then after that, the arms are the next thing."

First lady Michelle Obama also has a toned-look that many women are hoping to achieve through the help of surgery. "Look at Michelle Obama. I can't help but think that she has an influence."

The cost of an arm lift generally runs between $6,000 and $8,000, he said. One downside is the procedure always creates a scar on the upper arm, he added, and going under anestheics for certain amounts of time can also cause consequences. 

Among men, in every age group there was an increase in chest reduction surgeries, according to the report. While the percentage increase for this procedure was 4 percent, the fact that an increase was seen across all ages was striking, Reath said.

The most common surgical procedure performed in 2012 was breast augmentation, although there was a 7 percent drop in those procedures since 2011. About 286,000 breast augmentations were completed in 2012, according to the report.

The data in the report are gathered from a plastic surgeons' database as well as from physician surveys.