There has been an 80 per cent increase in the number of men who are going for breast reduction surgeries. British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons reported that the surgeries rose to 581 in 2009 from 323 in 2008.

Surgeons have put the blame on men's magazines for this. With surgeries on a rise, cosmetic surgery appears to be defying the recession.

British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (Baaps) said that in 2009 they performed surgeries on nine out of 10 cosmetic procedures on women for breast enlargement.

But male surgery overtook this rise with an overall increase of more than a fifth over the year.

Surgeons said that among men rhinoplasty also called nose job and blepharoplasty, which is a surgery on the skin around the eyes, were the most popular surgeries.

Consultant plastic surgeon Rajiv Grover said, "Many men are feeling the pressure from men's magazines that weren't even being published five or six years ago. In addition, they are just realising that they can get something done about it."

Grover said that surgery could be avoided by making simple lifestyle changes in many cases.