Comments about ‘Salt Lake City leads nation for vanity, Forbes says’

see we are the most deppressed so we have to have work done and that makes it all better. see it all adds up. :)

The math is a little fuzzy. Six per 100,000 for a total of 45. SL City's population is 175,000 +/-.

So we're vain because plastic surgeon's like living in Utah?
Any study out there showing the number of people per 100,000 receiving plastic surgery?

They wouldn't live in Utah if there weren't a market for their job. A lot of the women I know either want plastic surgery or have already had it.

Is it possible that the amount of plastic surgeons in Utah is below the national average, and just concentrated in Salt Lake? Working in a Cardiology office in Salt Lake, I know many of our patients travel from Wyoming, Nevada, Idaho, and Colorado, and all cities located within Utah because they lack the availability of care offered here in Salt Lake. If you were near New York, as mentioned in the article, you may have your own plastic surgery clinic in your city, but if you live in Ephraim, where are you going to go?

Although I would have to agree with sodiedog, that the numbers regarding plastic surgeons have little significance, I have to agree with the article that SLC (add Provo/Orem to that) is/are vain.

I'm curious of the percentage of the Wasatch Front population that drive luxury cars, buy homes that are way more than needed (such as the many young couples buying $350,000 "starter" homes), own boats, have second/vacation homes, have a high debt-to-income ratio, etc.

Having lived in several places across the country, it was easy for me to notice the difference between the lifestyle here and other places in the country. I was shocked to come to Salt Lake and find out it's like a miniature Hollywood. The general and dominant attitude here is how one appears in the public eye; hence, the high rates of depression. It seems a constant battle for the population here to keep up with the Joneses and that's a battle that will never be won.

This is just another case of statistics being twisted and spun into what the writer wants. Just because Plastic Surgeons and work here live here does not mean that the whole population is vain. Its just stereotyping from a small amount of information.

Where were these writers when they were teaching logic and problem solving in school. Utah has a lot of dentists too. But it does not mean we all have the whitest smiles and the best dental hygeine. Or maybe this writer would think that its another reason we are vain.

Bravo guys. As an Mormon, I'm so proud that all the teachings we hear on loving ourselves as God made us have been influential.

Or maybe it's just all the California imports who are getting plastic surgery? Right....

This is truly sad guys. :(

sodiedog, they're obviously counting the metro area population, not just SLC proper. DUH.

Is it possible that people in SLC really truly are the most vain? Yes. I've lived all over America and in Europe and Australia and Utahns are the most vain people I've ever encountered.

Utahns are always concerned with appearances, whether they're just running to the grocery store for one item or working in their yard, they need to be made up.

Although there is nothing wrong with having good dental hygiene and a beautiful smile, the answer is a resounding yes: Utahns do, indeed, have the whitest smiles and best dental hygiene of any place in the world. It wouldn't be such an issue if it weren't for the ridicule that exists of those lacking a perfect smile. Having been raised in an area without that same quality dental care, the only way I could possibly get my own smile to the Utah standard is to drop ten grand on a set of laminates. Personally, Id rather just be myself and not join the throngs in the popularity contest.

As an LDS implant to Utah, I think this article is LONG overdue.

I hope the general authorities of the LDS church are reading this and paying attention. This goes way, way beyond plastic surgery.

As a single LDS male, this is one reason I'm never getting remarried, at least not in Utah. I constantly hear general conference talks about pornography, gambling, etc. How about a talk, particularly to the women, about vanity. In our own scriptures we read about the "great and spacious building." I've always made the mistake of thinking that those in that building were people outside the church. WRONG! It's our very own LDS church members, here in Utah, that are mocking and finger pointing at those of us who don't care about being popular in the public eye.

As examples, I took my daughter to the ballet. We sat in the nose bleed section because it was all we could afford. When I told an acquaintance about it, the first thing out of her mouth was "where were your seats?" When Utah women get wedding rings, all that seems to matter is how big is the diamond?

I will remain happily single in Utah.

I agree with this article. Just last night at a Christmas party the mother of a teenage son was sharing how she was going to spend tons of $$$ to fix her son's teeth... her son, overhearing what she was saying, volunteered, "I'm going to look so good!" I couldn't believe my ears - I don't care where you live or who you are, anyone who says that in public should be slapped in the face - hard :). There are many people hear that need to step outside of themselves and listen to how they sound. I myself am not excluded from making mistakes and I would hope that if I ever said in public, "I look so good" that someone would have the courtesy and valor to throw a bucket of cold water on my face. My parents certainly would have and I dare say parents are where the root of this problem lyes, puffing their children up, not holding them responsible for anything, giving them everything, encouraging their beautiful smiles, and big muscles, or big (fake) B___S, etc. etc. There is a place for plastic surgery and it is not to make nearly perfect, perfect.

I agree that we are a vain community in Salt Lake. People are more handsomely dressed at the gas station than in nice restaurants in other cities/states. We weren't always like this... just 10 years ago, we could actually be ourselves. It's kind of sad, really.
On a good note, it is fun to see pretty folks, fancy cars and big homes everywhere you go! Too bad few of us can actually afford it!

Another explanation for this phenomenon is that SLC has become a 'destination' for plastic surgery. I travel frequently and have heard the people come here because the surgery is:
1. High Quality
2. Affordable
3. They can recuperate here in style, returning home 'all fixed up'.

The article should address the percentage of locals having plastic surgery, not merely the ratio of surgeons to locals.

Statistically, the model was flawed.

I lived in SLC and had to have plastic surgery due to skin cancer. As SLC is closer to the sun than many more places in America, it makes sense that there WOULD be more surgeons specialising in this field. Hurrah to all you surgeons and keep your eye on your skin and the sun to the rest of you.
Jonathon Lee, MAidenhead UK via Davis Cty and SLC

Vanity and pride here in Utah is epidemic. I read the Forbes article and, although their conclusion is based on plastic surgeons and spending on cosmetic items per capita, they could have drawn the same conclusions in other catagories.

It becomes apparent to anyone who has lived outside Utah that the population here prides themselves on maintaining a certain image. There is certainly nothing wrong with wanting to look one's best but it becomes a problem when people here make comparisons that they look "better" than others. It becomes an even larger problem when more important things like personality are neglected because there is far more attention given to one's outward appearance as is so common here. Utahns aren't exactly known for being the most friendly people in the country.

I lived in Salt Lake City for 6 years. The Mormon Church (I am Mormon by the way) teaches one to treat their body like a temple, hence, no alcohol, smoking, caffeine, etc...and then they go and get boob implants, lipo, lip implants etc... They are total hypocrites. The people there live in a little bubble. I moved there from Illinois and my classmate in the University said "Oh you're from the East coast I said "No" I was from the Mid-West and they said "Anything East of Utah is East coast". Don't expect too much from these people. The statistic is true. They have nothing better to worry about.

Lots of people, if not all, do a great deal to look their best and present themselves well. We buy nice clothes. We bathe, brush, comb, shave etc etc. There are some who go a step further and have plastic surgery. OK now those people are vain?? There is an injunction not to judge others in order to avoid the same judgment ourselves.

Most of what we believe about appearance and presentation is entirely cultural and changes as our culture changes. What might be wholly unacceptable to one generation is the norm for another. The fact that one person may choose surgery and another does not is hardly grounds for name calling.

I think we should practice some self control and avoid throwing the first stone. One never knows when that stone might get thrown back.